Rebirth
by BunBunBabe
Summary: Peter and Neal's relationship is put to the test in more ways that one part V of the Worth the Risk Series.Slash,lang & flashbacks of abuse. this story is going to be split into two stories. So enjoy and look for part two
1. Chapter 1

(( Welcome to the first chapter of the rebirth, this may be the last story in the worth the risk series, it all depends on you the fans if I get enough reviews or requests for more then I will make another story after this one I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own

Warning: slash, swearing, etc

Thank you again Peppe for betaing this story, and thank you to my fans for sticking with this story

**Chapter 1: Crystal Heart**

"Peter, are you sure about this?" Elizabeth asked in a worried tone as she followed Peter outside to his car. The FBI agent turned around and smiled softly at his wife as he loaded another bag into the back of his car. He turned around and put his hands on her shoulders before pulling her into a hug.

"Neal's doctor said he needs to relax… and to get away from everything that's causing his insomnia and the panic attacks. He's close to a mental breakdown, and I'll do anything to help him get better," Peter replied vehemently as he closed the trunk and walked back into the house with Elizabeth.

Elizabeth loved Neal just as much as her husband only she felt more of a motherly connection to the young con and she wanted him to recover and once again be their lovable playful friend. "And you feel that you can accomplish this task by taking him to our cabin in the Catskills?" she asked as she grabbed her coffee off the dining room table.

Nodding his head Peter grabbed his mug and sipped his coffee "Oh, yes I have no doubt that a few weeks at the cabin and Neal will be back trying my patience and conning you for your affection. Now I have the car packed with all the supplies we will need and I do remember there is that country store a few miles away that we can stock up at if we forgot anything. I've got enough clothing and gear to last us a week before we have to do laundry. I've got bread, bacon, eggs, plus hot dogs and I even packed chocolate bars, marshmallows and graham crackers to make s'mores plus a few other things," replied Peter as he sipped his coffee.

"Did you pack some of Neal's favorite wine; you know he doesn't like the type that has a screw on lid?" Elizabeth asked as she looked through one of the fully packed boxes of canned food and wine bottles. Peter smirked "Yes… I had Mozzie give me a list of his favorites that weren't too expensive and I brought myself some beer. I have several canned meats packed if we run out of the other food," Peter said with a smile.

Looking in the box "You did pack something other than deviled ham didn't you, you know that Neal doesn't like it," she said picking through the box. "I packed tuna and salmon and I'm sure he'll be able to handle that. He's picky but not that picky and I did pack some deviled ham for myself," Peter said as he finished his coffee.

Elizabeth smiled as she watched her husband finish packing the food box with a few extra cans of tuna for Neal's sake. "So how did Neal take it when you told him about going on a vacation with you? I would imagine he would be ecstatic at the chance to be alone with you for a few weeks," Elizabeth remarked with a smirk.

Peter looked up from the box. "Well to be honest with you…he doesn't know yet, I thought I would surprise him," he said with a smirk as he picked the box up and carried it out to the car. Elizabeth laughed softly as she followed behind Peter. Once the car was fully packed Peter kissed his wife "I'll call you when we get up there, see you later Hon," Peter said as he got into the car and drove off. "I can't wait to hear how it goes" Elizabeth said to herself as she grabbed the paper off the front steps and walked back inside to get ready for work that day.

* * *

Peter pulled up in front of June's after dealing with the morning traffic he was glad to be there after killing the engine he got out of his car and met June at the door. "I think it's just wonderful that you're taking Neal away for a while he needs to get out of the house. He's kept himself in his room for so long I'm getting worried that he's becoming a shut in," June said as she let Peter inside.

Nodding his head Peter walked to the staircase "I'm going get him back to normal or as close to normal as he's ever been" Peter promised as he ascended the stairs and walked to Neal's door. Opening the door Peter found Neal curled up on the couch watching a movie on his television. Neal jumped when he heard the door open.

"You nearly scared me to death," Neal said as he looked at his partner his face covered with light stubble and dark circles under his eyes. Peter walked around the couch and lifted Neal's feet up and moved them off the couch. With a smile Neal moved so he was sitting up and looking at the agent. "What are you doing here anyway?" the ex con asked as he gave a long yawn. "I'm taking you on a little trip for a few weeks, you need to get out of the city and just relax… and I've decided to take you camping in the Catskills, just the two of us," Peter said as he watched for Neal's reaction.

Neal felt his eyes grow wide "Camping…in the woods… just you and me… I don't know I've never been camping before and I don't think tents and I go together very well," Neal said apprehensively as he sat back a bit. Peter chuckled at the reaction. "Oh did I forget to mention we're staying in a cabin that El and I own it was originally my father's so I know the area well, so get dressed and shave, throw on a pair of sneakers and pack an extra pair and let's go," Peter said as he got up from the couch and pulled Neal to his feet.

The first thing he looked at were the semi faint surgery scars on Neal's chest, he knew the ex con has grown self conscious about them even though they were fading away nicely. He lightly touched the still dark scar over Neal's heart for a moment before pulling away when he saw Neal fidget uncomfortably under his touch, it had been nearly a week and still Neal was uncomfortable with any type of intimate touch. "We have a long drive ahead of us and I would like to not be caught in traffic too long," Peter remarked as he sat back down on the couch and watched Neal dig around for jeans and a tee shirt. Not wasting any time Neal pulled the shirt on over his head before putting his jeans on and padding over to Peter with bare feet. "So how did you manage to get the marshals to agree to let me go out of my appointed two mile radius?" Neal asked as he smiled his most charming smile trying to hide his uncomfortable feeling.

Giving a sigh Peter knew his perfectly timed schedule was out the window "I told them that your doctor said you had to get away and that there was no chance you would run but they insisted that I bring something to wear that serves as your central point meaning you can't go more than a mile from me without yours going off. Now I'm going to tell you only one more time, get your shoes on and let's go we have a long drive ahead of us," he said as he attempted to hurry Neal along. Neal sighed as he reluctantly headed for his walk in closet to finish dressing and pack his essentials. After digging around he found his sneakers and a duffle bag.

Neal quickly packed a couple sweaters, his toothbrush and toothpaste, and when he was sure that Peter wasn't looking he opened a secret drawer and pulled out a small stack of twenties equaling five hundred dollars which he shoved into a pair of wool socks before hiding the socks under the sweaters and a few more shirts before putting a few more shirts in the bag along with a few pairs of jeans and undergarments as well. As he walked out of the hall Neal came face to face with Peter. "All done, well come on I thought you wanted to get going?" Neal asked trying to keep Peter from getting suspicious about his things.

* * *

Not questioning the look Neal was giving Peter took the bag and walked downstairs with Neal so they could say their goodbyes to June who smiled at Neal. "Now I know you two will want this for when you wake up," she said handing Neal a paper bag filled with bags of her Italian roast coffee that she knew both men would loved. "I hope you both enjoy your vacation," June added as she gave Neal a small hug before they left. Peter unlocked his car and put Neal's bag in the backseat. "Did you remember your pills with you in case of a panic attack?" Peter asked when saw Neal grin and excuse himself to run back up to his apartment. When Neal returned he held up the small bottle and shook it to show how full it was. Peter rolled his eyes as they got into the car and started the engine.

Neal buckled his seatbelt and looked out the window as they drove away from June's. Peter glanced at Neal when they pulled up to a stoplight Neal hadn't begun playing with the radio a sure sign he was alright. When he looked he found Neal looking out the window lost in his own thoughts or drifting off to sleep. As he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel a few times until the light turned green, they pulled away from the light and began their journey north.

Peter glanced at the bottle in Neal's hands a few times as he drove he noticed the bottle had barely been touched. "Are your panic attacks getting better? Or are just not taking your medication?" Peter asked even though he was worried about answer. Neal looked at the bottle in his hands for a moment before speaking "I don't like them they make me feel light headed so I stopped taking them, I know you're going to say I'm being stupid and I need to cowboy up but I hate feeling so lost in my own mind," Neal remarked as he dropped the small bottle in the open space behind the gear shift. Peter shook his head a bit. "Neal the medication is here to help you, I'm telling you now that this now that the next time you need them you are going to take them because if you don't I will hold you down and force them down your throat," he remarked sternly as he drove.

After they made it through the city traffic they crossed into New Jersey and moved north toward New York State. Neal watched the large cities and towns begin to shrink, as the time stretched on Neal nodded off and slept with his head against the passenger window. Peter gave a small smile when he saw that Neal was resting. He knew his partner wasn't sleeping well at all, _June said Neal has been avoiding sleep like the plague and I can see that it is true,_ Peter thought as he drove for an hour before he pulled up to a gas station after shutting the engine off before getting out of the car and closing the car door as quietly as possible to let Neal sleep longer. After he was sure Neal was asleep Peter checked the tire pressure and the oil level before he went into the small market to use the restroom and get a soda.

Returning to the car Peter unlocked the door and got in, glancing at the clock on the radio he smiled at the fact that they were making good time and that they would arrive at the cabin in another hour. Starting the car up again Peter pulled away from the gas station and continued on their journey. As they drove up the county roads Peter kept a close eye out for the turn off into the mountains. Neal groaned as he rubbed his eyes a bit before he shifted a bit and went back to sleep. Another hour passed by slowly as Peter and Neal drove the twisting mountain roads, Peter turned into the driveway and began to drive up the hill to the house. When they arrived Peter pulled into the garage before cutting the engine and unbuckling his seat belt.

* * *

Peter popped the trunk and got out of the car he wanted to unpack some of the boxes before he woke Neal up, he grabbed a couple bags and walked through the door and up the stairs to the first floor. He dumped the bags on the floor before heading back to the car to grab the boxes of food he brought up to the cabin. Making another trip upstairs Peter put the box down on the counter. As he went back down to the car Peter looked around the cluttered basement and remembered all the times he came up to the cabin in the past with his family and with Elizabeth. "I should wake Neal, that way we can unpack the car quickly before I make him take a nap," Peter said to himself as he walked into the garage and found Neal missing from the passenger seat.

Worried that Neal made a run for it Peter walked out of the garage and found Neal looking at the lake below the house. Walking up behind Neal Peter cleared his throat so as not to startle the younger man. "So what do you think?" he asked hoping Neal would like the view. Smiling at the view of the lake and mountains Neal turned around "It's very relaxing, I can't hear anything other than nature… it's very nice," Neal said already missing the sounds of the city already.

Neal put his hands in his pockets before heading back to the car and grabbing his bag from the trunk "You'll have to show me around," Neal said as he put the strap from his bag over his shoulder. Peter walked over to the open trunk and grabbed the last two bags before closing the trunk and leading Neal into the basement and up the stairs to the first floor. "Well here is the living room slash dining room slash kitchen, the deck wraps around the front and side of the house with an eastern view of the lake and the sun in the morning looks wonderful on the water…maybe you could draw the sunrises over the water," Peter suggested as he watched Neal put his bag down and walk out onto the deck and look at the view.

"How would I do that I didn't bring any supplies with me and I'm pretty sure any country store around here won't have what I need," Neal said as he turned around and came face to face with Peter. Peter chuckled and pointed to a large box beside a new easel and a wide range of pre-mounted canvases of different sizes and a small stack of sketch books and pads of different sizes ."I think that might be exactly what you need to work with," Peter remarked as Neal gaped as he walked over to the coffee table and opened the large box revealing brand new top of the line brushes and oil based paints and small bottles of paint thinner to clean the brushes. Picking the paints up Neal saw the charcoal sticks and chalk and oil pastels, colored pencils and pens.

Looking at everything once again Neal pinched his arm to make sure he wasn't dreaming "Peter this is…I… I don't know what to say, this is two hundred dollars worth of art supplies…"Neal said in awe as he ran his fingers over the paint brushes. Peter smiled as he stepped forward and put his hand over Neal's careful so as not to scare him. Moving his hand back like he had been shocked by electricity Neal took a step back, Peter moved back a step to give the other man some space to calm down. "I didn't mean to startle you… but you remember what Doctor Parker said you have to work on getting back to normal," Peter said as he kept his distance.

"No, it's my fault… I don't mean to be so jumpy about everything, but I know how we can fix this, sit on the couch and sit still I'm going to try something," Neal said as he took a single step forward toward the other man. Peter sat down and watched as Neal cautiously sat down on the other end of the couch and slid closer to him. "Please don't move…" Neal remarked as he moved Peter's arm around him as he got closer, after a moment of sitting still Neal moved in closer until his head was resting on the other man's shoulder. Staying as still as a statue Peter waited for Neal to make every move when he was comfortable enough. Neal put his head against Peter's shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment as he took in a deep breath to calm his calm his nerves.

Peter resisted the urge to let his arm twitch even the slightest as he let the other man get comfortable with him being so close to him. Neal sat up and opened his eyes. "I want to kiss you but I'm… afraid…." Neal said softly as he looked away from Peter. "Neal, please trust me when I say I'm not going to hurt you," Peter remarked as he turned to face the other man. Peter put his hand on Neal's cheek before leaning closer 'til their lips met, Neal let his eyes slide close again. As soon as his eyes were closed he began to flash back to his memories of his rape, Neal pulled away began to breathe heavy.

Bending over and putting his head in his hand Neal whimpered a bit "I'm sorry…I just keep thinking about him, he's still out there Peter I know you and the others promise to catch him but it's been weeks with no sign of him he could be on the other end of the world or six blocks from June's place…You just don't know where he could be; he's not like Colin he doesn't flaunt around like a peacock with his riches…Jordan knows how to blend in. All he has to do is walk onto a college campus and he's blended in with a thousand other students," Neal said as he looked down at the floor tears beginning to blur his vision.

Moving over slowly Peter put a comforting friendly hand on Neal's shoulder and waited for him to look up. "We're going to find him and put him in jail and he'll never touch you again," Peter promised as he tried to comfort Neal. "Now how about I show you the rest of the cabin, there are two bedrooms on this floor and the attic was converted into the master bedroom with its own bathroom. We should bring our stuff upstairs soon and begin unpacking," he added as he got up and grabbed one of his bags.

Neal stood up slowly "Peter…can I take one of the rooms downstairs… I know that it sounds strange after all I've been through to get you to be in a relationship with me. But I can't sleep in the same bed as you right now maybe later," Neal said as he grabbed his duffel bag and walked to the bedroom next to the bathroom. After dropping his bags on the floor Neal walked back into the living room to look his new art supplies over again. Peter grabbed his bags and looked at Neal before bringing his bags to his room, when he returned downstairs he found Neal on the couch with a sketch pad and a pen.

* * *

"I'm going to make dinner early tonight, and then it's going to be hot cocoa as soon as I get the fireplace started," Peter remarked as he walked over to the counter and began to unpack the large box of food and the cooler he brought. Curious as to what Peter had packed Neal walked over and spotted his arch rival of food. "You packed deviled ham… you realize after you eat that I'm not kissing you," Neal remarked as he grabbed a few cans deviled ham and hid them in the cabinet behind a box of cereal. Peter smirked "Don't worry you don't have to eat that I brought canned tuna and salmon for you and for tuna salad sandwiches," Peter remarked as he watched Neal turn away like a finicky cat. "Trust me it tastes just as good as the fancy stuff you like, but tonight we're having a camping classic of hotdogs on the grill," Peter said as he put a bag of hot dog rolls on the counter.

The ex con continued to unpack the box of food when he came across a hard bottle lifting it up he felt his eyes go wide, putting the wine bottle on the counter he reached into the box and found six more bottles of wine. "Peter…you got wine that you actually need a corkscrew for…and these are all my favorites, and they're not cheap," Neal remarked in awe that his partner had spent so much on him. Peter "I thought if you said no to camping I could bribe you to come along with expensive wine and the promise of just spending some time alone with me," he said as he dug through the cooler for the hot dogs and the condiments.

Turning to Neal he smirked "Neal have you ever eaten a hot dog before?" Peter asked since he never saw Neal eat anything that cost less than thirty dollars a serving. Neal looked away before speaking "Once when I was six years old, my parents were away in Europe on let's call it business for legal purposes since the statute of limitations haven't run out quite yet maybe in a few more years I'll tell you. But Nicolai had chased our nanny around all day forcing her to go outside and hit her hidden stash of vodka in the garden shed. So Nicolai found the hot dogs and cooked a few on the stove."

"Wait… if you were six that means he was seven, and he didn't burn the place down?" Peter asked as he put the last of the food away in the cabinets. Neal smiled "Well I wasn't the only one he was cooking for, Dante, Romano and Adrian was there since my aunt and uncle were also away for a while so they came to stay with us since we had the room," Neal said with a smile. "That didn't answer the question but since you didn't say anything then I'll assume he didn't burn the place down," Peter remarked with a smile before digging the matches out of the drawer.

Looking through the cabinets Neal found two plates, going over to the sink he washed and dried them before putting them on the counter to be used for dinner. Peter walked onto the deck and opened the cover of the grill and cleaned it before turning it on to heat up. Neal walked out onto the deck and looked at the lake "It's such a beautiful view, I can see why you wanted to bring me up here to relax," he said softly as he sat on a lounge chair. "Now I know you don't leave these chairs out all the time or the power on, you came up here a few times recently to clean before today did you?" Neal asked with an all knowing smile as he put his head back and watched the clouds drift above the cabin.

**I crave reviews so please read and review and if you review this chapter fast enough then chapter two will come out sooner than you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own but I do ask for reviews very nicely pretty please with cherries ontop of half naked neal I love all my fans and I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you Peppe for betaing yet again your a big help.

**Chapter 2: Healing **

After dinner Neal picked up the plates and walked over to the sink and began to wash the dishes when he finished he dried them and put them on the drying rack. Walking over to the couch he looked at Peter and found him asleep after a long day of driving. Crouching down Neal brushed his fingertips against Peter's features for a moment before he stood up and made his way into his room to change for the night, while in his room Neal opened the bottle of sedatives and dry swallowed one since he knew they made him drowsy. Once he was in his silk pants for the night Neal walked back out to the living room and covered Peter with the blanket and bent over and kissed him on the temple.

_Since I slept in the car I'm still not that tired, maybe I'll sit up for a while and just watch the world go by…_ Neal thought as he walked out onto the deck and sat down on the lounge chair again to look at the gold and orange and red leaves that were starting to appear in the vast ocean of green. As the sun slowly sank lower behind the cabin Neal shifted on the lounge chair and watched as the sky darkened and stars began to dot the sky.

* * *

Peter woke up shivering a few hours later as he looked around the pitch black cabin when he saw the silver moonlight bathing the woods in its eerie glow the FBI agent grumbled and put his arms over his chest and rubbed his arms to warm up as he walked to the doors to close them. When he walked out onto the deck Peter noticed that there was someone lying on the lounge chair. "Neal… what the hell are you doing out here in the cold," Peter remarked as he went over to the younger man and put a hand on Neal's shoulder.

The skin under his hand was icy cold; Peter felt his heart stop for a moment until he saw a small cloud of breath float from Neal's nose as he slept. Giving a small sigh of relief he shook Neal until he opened his eyes "Pe…pe…ter…how… how did it… get so cold out here?" Neal asked as he began to shiver, the agent chuckled and put a comforting arm around Neal as he stood up, Peter led him back inside and shut the double doors behind them. "Let's get you upstairs where it's warmer… the fireplace heats up the entire room better then down here," Peter said as he led Neal up the spiral staircase. Neal continued to shake as Peter quickly got a small fire started in the wood stove in the corner of the room.

Neal walked over to the large master bed and crawled under the goose down comforter to warm up, and when the fire had taken hold of the wood Peter went to the dresser and grabbed his clothes to change. He then went into the bathroom and changed before he slipped under the covers beside Neal who was still shaking. "Neal you're still shaking, come here and let me warm you up," Peter said as he held his arms open to Neal. The ex con slipped closer and nuzzled against Peter for warmth.

"It's getting warmer now; I guess I shouldn't have taken that sedative they kind of make me sleepy," Neal mumbled as he nuzzled against Peter's shoulder and neck. Peter rolled his eyes as he let Neal snuggle up close for warmth. "But then again…I couldn't sleep without it," Neal added as he began to drift away into the dream world. Peter stayed awake to watch Neal as he slept and when he was sure Neal was truly asleep he traced the scars on Neal's chest after a couple minutes he stopped on the one over Neal's heart it was the only scar that scared him. It was a marring reminder at how close he came to losing the younger man. Pulling Neal closer Peter felt safer that he knew Neal wasn't going anywhere that night which comforted him and allowed him to fall asleep as well.

* * *

Neal groaned as he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the glaring sun that had risen high enough in the sky to reach him on the second floor. As he sat up to stretch the kinks out of his back Neal noticed something large and warm beside him. Looking beside him Neal found Peter with his arm around his waist. At first Neal was upset that Peter had ignored his request to stay in separate rooms, and then it dawned on him he couldn't remember how he ended up sharing a bed with Peter.

Not wanting to stay there any longer Neal got out bed and walked to his room on the first floor, once he crossed the threshold he made a beeline for the bag he packed, he dug around in his duffel bag for some fresh clothes. After putting on a pair of pants and some thick socks Neal walked out of his room and walked into the kitchen and began to look around for something to make for breakfast, as he looked around in the cabinet for a frying pan Neal stood up and turned around only to come face to face with Peter.

Peter ran his fingers through his hair trying to flatten it as he looked Neal over. "Is there a reason you decided to walk around shirtless when it's cold down here?" Peter asked as he made his way to the fireplace to make a fire. Neal walked away from the stove, "I distinctly remember saying I wanted to sleep in a separate room last night, but when I woke up this morning I was in bed with you…so how did you get me up to your room?" Neal asked as he pointed the frying pan at Peter.

The older man walked back over and yanked the pan out of Neal's hand before putting it on the counter. "You took one of your pills last night and ended up falling asleep on the lounge chair in the cold where you nearly gave yourself hypothermia so I brought you upstairs to warm up since it wasn't necessary to heat the whole cabin to warm you up. Besides you were the one who was pretty clingy last night not me. All I did was keep you warm so you wouldn't get sick, so you shouldn't jump to conclusions," Peter said as he walked over to the stove and placed the pan on the coil and turned the heat on.

"I…I don't remember doing any of that, I guess those pills really do make me loopy… sorry for getting so defensive Peter, I know your trying to help me," Neal said sheepishly as he looked down at the floor. Peter chuckled at Neal's reaction. "Just go put a shirt on and I'll make breakfast," Peter said as he pulled eggs and bacon out of the fridge. Neal smirked "Why should I put a shirt on…is it because I distract you with my hauntingly good looks?" Neal asked as he moved closer. "No, its cold out and you should be wearing a shirt," Peter remarked as he turned his attention to breakfast knowing that the other man disliked being ignored very much.

Neal moved closer to Peter and looked over his shoulder to see what he was preparing for breakfast and from the looks of it he realized that it was only a simple breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon. After a couple minutes of trying to get Peter's attention Neal gave up and walked over to where he had left his new art supplies and began to look them over again. Curious to see where Neal had run off to Peter looked over his shoulder and found Neal still shirtless. "Damn it I'm not kidding Neal it's in the low forties and it's going to stay there all day so put a shirt on or I will put you over my knee and it will not be pretty," Peter warned as he watched Neal quickly get up and return to his room before returning in a few minutes wearing a black turtleneck. Peter smiled when he saw that Neal had finally obeyed him. The ex con parked himself at the small kitchen table "So what are we going to do today? Unless you are planning on keeping me locked in doors all day?" Neal asked as he crossed his legs and sat back against the chair.

Peter put a helping of eggs on both plates and some bacon besides the eggs before placing a plate in front of the other man before putting the other down at his place. He then sat down across the table from him and reached for the pepper at the same time as Neal did, the ex con smirked as he pulled away the victor with the pepper. Peter looked down at his hand and saw that his fingers were wrapped around the salt shaker. It took less than a millisecond to realize that Neal had switched the shakers just as they both reached for it. When Neal finished he handed the shaker over to Peter.

"I was thinking that maybe we would go for a walk after we go to the market to get some things for dinner tonight, and maybe you'll find something you'll want to cook for dinner tonight," Peter said as he began to eat his breakfast. Neal thought it over for a moment as he picked up a strip of bacon and took a large bite out of the hickory smoked meat strip, with a smirk finished it off quickly before digging into his scrambled eggs when he was done he grabbed his last strip of bacon and finished it quickly. It was so good that Neal couldn't help but lick his fingers seductively of all of the flavoring from the bacon, he looked at Peter and gave a small smirk at his reaction "Peter your eggs are getting cold, and your drooling a bit," Neal said with a small laugh as he got up from the table with his plate and as he walked past Peter's plate he quickly grabbed the last piece of his bacon eating it before Peter could object.

* * *

Peter got up from the table and carried his empty plate to the sink. "Since I made breakfast you can wash all the dishes, I'm going to lounge on the couch for a while," he said as he walked over to the couch and stretched out on it. Neal huffed as he grabbed the rest of the dishes and put them into the sink and proceed to do just that, Neal rolled up his sleeves and blocked the drain before filling the sink with water and began to scrub the frying pan, Peter watched Neal from the couch as he washed the dishes. After a moment of scrubbing Neal realized he had been conned. "Wait a second I did the dishes after dinner last night, and I was going to make breakfast which would have given you dish duty and you knew that, you didn't take the frying pan so I wouldn't hit you, you took it knowing I would make breakfast." Neal remarked.

As Peter sat up and put a hand on his chest "I'm appalled you would accuse me of such a thing," Peter remarked as he began to lie back down, but before his head hit the pillow a wet sponge hit him in the face with a loud squelching sound. Neal started to laugh when Peter sat there in shock the blue sponge still stuck to his face. After the initial shock passed Peter peeled the sopping wet sponge off his face. "You're going to get it now," Peter said when he looked up only to see Neal was gone and the front door was swinging shut.

Jumping up from the couch Peter ran out the door after Neal and after a quick sprint he successfully caught up to Neal and pinned him against a tree. Neal laughed as he was forcibly spun around; Neal had to bite his lip to keep himself from smiling which he failed miserably at. Peter tried to look angry but he stopped when he saw the real Neal again breaking from the depressed shell that he had grown so used to seeing. After a few minutes Neal slowly got laughter under control before he spoke. "You know I haven't laughed this much in a long time, I forgot how much fun it is," Neal said his chest rising and falling quickly as he caught his breath after a moment he reached up to rub the remainder of the laughter induced tears from the corners of his eyes. Peter grabbed Neal's wrist and pulled his hand away before reaching up and using his own thumb to wipe the tears away.

Neal smiled and pulled Peter into a fiery kiss that set his skin on fire, he couldn't understand why every time he kissed Peter that he felt he had been electrocuted by a million electric eels that sent his nerves into overdrive. The kiss ended abruptly when Neal pulled away. "Peter your phone in vibrating," Neal said as he felt his head clear slowly from the kiss induced haze. Peter reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, not recognizing the number as he opened the phone "This is Burke, that's good news thanks for the update and yes he's right here…" Peter said handing the phone over to the other man. Neal took the phone and held it up to his ear. "Hello, oh hey Dante…things are going good, we're going to be up here for a while. I'll call you when we plan on leaving…no Dante we haven't had sex yet…almost… okay later," Neal said before hanging up and handing the phone back to Peter.

"Don't ask, but I would like to know why you thanked him… what's going on, is it something I should know about?"Neal asked as he shifted from side to side. Pocking the phone Peter thought in silence for a moment. "He was telling me that we finally have a lead on Jordan Wilson, apparently he's hiding out somewhere in Russia, he was spotted near a small village just outside Moscow two days ago," Peter said relaying the information to his partner.

Neal felt an unwelcome shiver shoot up his spine at the name, right away Peter regretted saying it, "Neal he's over five thousand miles away from this spot he's not coming after you and if he even thinks about it I'll shoot him," Peter promised as he tried to keep Neal calm. Giving a small smirk Neal bit his bottom lip for a moment "I know that Peter and I also know you owe me another kiss since Dante interrupted our last one," Neal remarked grabbed Peter and pulled him up against his body keeping himself pinned between Peter and the rough bark of the tree behind him.

Just as their lips met a second time Neal felt the familiar vibration of Peter's phone, as he growled in anger Neal shoved his hand into Peter's pocket before Peter could even react. "Dante is that you…oh hello sir…no Peter just got into the shower but I will tell him to call you when he gets out," Neal lied as he hung up and held the power button down until the phone was off. Neal shoved the phone in his back pocket

"Hughes wants you to call him about something important I guess but not right now; right now you're busy," Neal remarked with a smirk as he moved past Peter although he made sure to keep out of reach so the other man couldn't get his phone back too soon. Peter walked after Neal and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back into his arms. "You are giving me my phone back right now or you're going to get a spanking and I'm not kidding when I say you won't be able to sit down for a month," Peter warned as he held his hand out. Neal looked down and defeated but reluctantly handed the phone over; Peter ignored the kicked puppy dog look Neal was giving him as he called Hughes back Peter waved Neal off.

While the phone rang Peter watched Neal slink away in dejected silence to a large rock formation and lay out in the sun. "Sir it's Burke… I see, well it was only a matter of time before they tried this… it was inevitable. How bad are the charges? I see… can you postpone it until we get back, about two weeks sir. Neal just isn't ready yet he'll crack under the stress of an interrogation right now, uh huh no of course I understand, I'll figure out a way to tell him. Thank you again sir," Peter said before hanging up and after he pocketed the phone he walked over to where Neal was laying on the large flat stone with his shirt off.

Neal sat up and grabbed the other man's wrist and pulled him to sit down on the rock beside him, Peter felt his eyes go right to the scars on Neal's chest, his hand automatically moving up to touch the scars "Peter can I ask why you always look at my scars?" Neal asked softly as he felt his pulse rise from the soft touch. "I don't mean to but I blame myself for those scars… if I had just insisted that you leave the club… if I hadn't listened to you then you wouldn't have them," Peter replied as he traced the longest scar that ran from Neal's collar bone to the second scar over his heart and across his sternum.

Right away Neal felt a pang of guilt hit him hard in the gut when he realized that he had been blind to Peter's suffering. Sitting up slowly Neal looked at his partner, "I'm the one who should be the one to blame, I stayed to protect you from having your life ruined… if I had just left then I wouldn't have been shot and we could have taken care of Jack on our own…"Neal remarked as he felt Peter's hand move back up to his shoulder.

* * *

The moment Peter heard the name his mind flew back to the conversation he just had with Hughes, not wanting to add to Neal's stress Peter slid his hand up Neal's shoulder and neck before gently cradling the back of his head and pulling him into a comforting hug. Right away Neal attempted to wrap his brain around the suddenly clingy FBI agent's actions. "Peter what's wrong? You're starting to scare me, what did you talk to Hughes about?" Neal asked fear filling his voice.

Peter held Neal close as he lay down slowly against the warm stone, Neal sat up a look of worry on his face "Peter tell me what's wrong…you're really freaking me out," Neal remarked as he searched Peter's face for the truth. Letting out a sigh Peter sat up and looked into Neal's eyes. "The DEA is attempting to file murder charges against you for Jack's death… they want to interrogate you but I've asked Hughes to convince them to wait to question you. Don't worry Neal you have our protection and I'm not going to let anything happen to you at all," Peter promised as he pulled Neal back down into his arms. Neal nodded awkwardly as he buried his face against Peter's shoulder. "I don't want to go back to jail Peter…"Neal said softly as he felt his stomach knotting in worry.

Right away Peter realized that he needed to take Neal's mind off of the future problem. "I'll do everything in my power to keep you from going to jail Neal, so don't worry about it," he said held Neal close, "I have an idea… why don't you put your shirt back on and we'll go to the market get some food. Then when we get back we'll take that walk and then you can cook dinner. I'll even wash the dishes myself," Peter offered in hopes it would work.

"That sounds like a great idea; I'll make sure that there are plenty of dishes for you to wash, too. I wonder what kind of selection a store this far north will have, hopefully it will have enough because I will not lower myself to eating freeze dried noodles in broth," Neal remarked as he scrunched his nose a bit like a finicky cat making Peter laugh. "Well come on, put your shirt back on and let's go," Peter said as he got to his feet and waited for Neal to shake the dirt off his turtleneck.

* * *

After dressing Neal got into the car and right away began to play with the radio before they even pulled out of the long driveway. Peter resisted the urge to slap Neal's hand as they drove the thirteen miles into town. Neal chewed his lip as he watched the trees passed by. When they got to the market Peter killed the engine and got out of the car. "Are we on a budget?" Neal asked as he followed Peter into the market.

"I would like not to spend a hundred dollars on food for just dinner," Peter replied as he followed Neal as the younger man wandered around looking for something to buy. Neal picked up a few things and read the ingredients before putting them back down on the shelf; Peter sighed and continued to follow Neal around. As they walked by the produce section Peter grabbed a tub of green paste "I wonder who needs a tub of avocado paste?" Peter mused as he looked at Neal.

Grabbing the tub Neal put it back on the refrigerated shelf and looked at Peter. "People who make food with them and before you ask no I don't eat avocados because I'm allergic to them," Neal responded as he grabbed a couple red peppers from the shelf and placed it into a plastic bag. Peter watched as Neal walked away "I didn't know you were allergic to anything, I thought the great Neal Caffrey was immune to everything," Peter chided as he reached for the deviled ham on sale.

Neal grabbed Peter by the wrist before his fingers could even touch the rim of the can. "You have more than enough of that at the cabin and even then I'm not going to let you eat it," Neal remarked as he slowly pulled Peter's hand away before he walked over to the meat department. After smiling and a few charming words he got the young woman behind the counter to hand him what he needed at a fifty percent mark down. Peter looked at the younger man. "Conning your way to get food, I guess your skills are good for something for once," Peter joked as he took the meat and looked it over before putting it in the basket.

Giving a little smirk of knowing Neal pretended not to hear Peter as he walked over to the dairy section and began looking the cheeses over, after three minutes he found that Peter's growing annoyance at him was starting to get worse, so Neal grabbed the American cheese off the shelf that he had been looking at the whole time. Once he made one more sweep around the store Neal walked up to the register and paid for the food and walked out to the car with Peter.

When they got back to the cabin Neal made his way inside, and as he put the food away he thought about Peter and where they would go on their walk. When he was done he walked back outside and over to where Peter was waiting for him. "We're going to work up a large appetite today so I hope what you make for dinner is filling," Peter remarked as he began to lead Neal up the trail.

As they walked up hill Peter decided he danced around the question he had been holding in for some time. "Neal you're a smart guy can I ask why you never finished high school or got a GED or even went to college?" Peter asked as he stepped over a large rock and reached back with an open hand to help Neal up the trail.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: don't own anything except for the made up chars, Peppe again thanks and there is mention of sex in this chapter but nothing graphic so still stays at T hope you enjoy**

**Chapter 3: Bonded**

Neal slowly grabbed Peter's hand and climbed over the rock. "Well it is a very long story that I think should be saved for when we take a break but I will tell you that it deals with my brother," Neal said as he let Peter put his arm around him to lead him higher up the trail. Peter looked at the younger man and tried to think how long the story could be. "Well it is a long walk before we get to the spot so you might as well start talking," he remarked. Nodding his head Neal decided that starting from the beginning would be best.

"When I was seventeen my brother decided he wanted to leave home after a fight with our father, so he ran away and made his way through Europe and Asia before he settled in Russia; for months we didn't know where he was or if he was even still alive. Now you know him as Nicolai but his name is actually Nicolas. After two years I couldn't take the pressure of school and my father pushing me to take on what would have been Nick's responsibilities during cons that my father had set up. So I skipped school and just ran off, after a year I made my way around the country before I found my way to New York," Neal said as they stopped to take a break.

Peter sat down on a rock and got ready for the story to finish; Neal sat across from Peter and pulled one leg up before continuing his story. "When I first got to New York I was pretty green I didn't know my way around and I looked liked since I was new to the game I knew that would work in my favor. I walked around the city a couple hours and I managed to find a cheap apartment after a while. Once I had a new home I walked around the city a few days later looking for something to do… that's when I saw a card game at the park I walked over and watched for a few minutes before playing for some big bucks That was when I conned the man out of his money and met Mozzie at the same time," Neal said with a smile. Peter smirked as he leaned back against a tree trunk before standing up and helping Neal stand. "So want to continue your story?" Peter asked.

Walking up the trail as it led them higher above the cabin Neal got ready to finish his story. "Well after conning Mozzie and the other man out of the money I went home. It was soon afterwards that Mozzie hunted me down and asked that we become partners. It was then that he saw and was impressed with the forged bonds I had drying on the table. After a while he told me about the long con against one of the most powerful men in the city at the time," Neal said as he stepped over a log.

"Long con, who was it against anyway?" Peter asked as he stepped over the same log. Neal looked back for a moment at Peter and bit his lip for a second as he thought "Vincent Adler…the man who made me into the man you know now…well now right now but before everything that has happened," Neal said as he stepped on a twig that snapped loudly.

Freezing for a moment Peter reached forward and grabbed Neal by the elbow "Wait… Vincent Adler….Vincent Adler the man who ran the Ponzi scheme that took a hundred and fifty million from his clients," Peter remarked. Neal nodded "He also took most of my money as well…even though he conned me I did meet Kate because of him, and I also met Alex while working for him only when she tried to con him and I tipped him off," Neal remarked as he turned away. Not wanting to push it Peter didn't push the topic as they kept walking.

* * *

After a long walk Peter sat on the large log that overlooked the valley to the east "It's a breathtaking view of everything," Neal sat on a small rock and put his head against Peter's knee. "Yeah it is I thought if you sat here long enough you would feel better and it would inspire you to paint actual paintings that aren't forgeries. It would be nice to see your take on this view and how you would paint it," Peter remarked as he watched Neal scan the view and learn every curve of the hills and every leaf on the trees. Sitting quietly he waited for Neal to speak first; the younger man looked around more before looked over his shoulder.

"I guess I should finish the story, let me back track a bit first, before Adler took everyone's money he ran the business like a respectable one, as the street kid I pretended to be he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes and I believed that he was who he said he was. Both Kate and I invested our money into the business that was the wrong idea, after that we ran various cons all over the city which you know now, but not then," Neal said with a small chuckle as he brushed his hair out of his eyes before he continued. "After a while I brought up the music box, right away Kate said no… in the end I went by myself… well not really by myself I was working with Alex," Neal said as he rubbed the back of his head a bit.

Peter was intrigued as the story continued he sat back to listen. "I take it that it didn't go well since you didn't make it out with box and you were forced to steal it later," Peter remarked as he ruffled Neal's hair. "Yeah there was a problem, Alex ended up in a French hospital and I barely got out… I never told anyone this but I had some help at the last minute from Nicolai, I was running down a street and he grabbed me and pulled me down an alley and he helped me get out of the city. I didn't find out 'til later that my mom called him and told him where I was," Neal laughed uneasily since he didn't want to look weak in front of Peter.

Laughing softly Peter covered his mouth. "You should have been more careful, now that I know that big story why don't you explain why Dante hated you for so long? Peter asked making Neal laugh and put his head back. "Oh that was a buildup of childhood torture and the fact that I stole a painting from a museum and just before he arrested me I left the country and went to New York where you arrested me and you know the rest of the story," Neal remarked as he looked back at the view.

An hour Peter stood up and helped Neal to his feet and held him close as they walked back down the hill. Neal smiled as they came out of the woods by the house. "Dinner is going to take a while so I should get started on that," Neal remarked as he dug the food out of the fridge. Peter walked over to the couch and grabbed the now dry sponge off the floor and walked it back to the sink. "That has been on the floor all day just throw it away and we'll get another one from under the sink," Neal remarked as he pulled the chicken and peppers out of the fridge. Peter threw out the old sponge and went back to the couch and watched as Neal busied himself in the kitchen.

* * *

When dinner was ready Peter sat up on the couch he watched as Neal set the table "It smells good, then again it should since you spent an hour cooking, so what is it anyway?" Peter asked as he moved to the table and sat down. "It's chicken with red pepper strips and cheese. It's simple and good with any wine… or beer… if you want to ruin the taste," Neal said feigning sadness as he looked the wine selection that Peter brought for him. Peter resisted the urge to role his eyes as he stood up and took the wine bottle Neal was holding. "Wine sounds good with a dinner like this, you serve and I'll pour," he said as he dug the corkscrew out of the box and uncorked the bottle as dinner was served.

Neal smiled at the meal and the wine "Here's to a great vacation and to a life we consider normal," Neal toasted as he held his wine glass up Peter nodded and clinked his glass with Neal's. As they ate Neal kept chuckling softly. "Have you looked over at the sink yet?" Neal asked with a smile. Not wanting to look over Peter decided to change the subject "So what are your plans for Thanksgiving? El and I decided to just lie around and do nothing all day and eat some turkey sandwiches," Peter said with a smile.

"I don't know yet, since I'm tethered to a two mile radius maybe I'll just walk around all day I haven't planned that far ahead yet," Neal lied as he finished his dinner and began to work on his wine while Peter cleared the table. "All that walking took a lot out of me I think I'm going to call it an early night," Neal yawned as he finished off his glass and left it on the table before rising and making his way to the staircase that lead to the master bedroom.

Peter collected the last of the dishes and began to wash them, once he was finished washing and drying the dishes Peter put them away and looked around to make sure he didn't miss anything; afterwards he checked the locks before heading up the stairs. Upon entering the master bedroom Peter noticed that Neal's clothes were littering the floor, but before he was about to speak Peter noticed that Neal was sound asleep with all the blankets pulled around him like a cocoon. Peter covered his mouth to stifle his laugh at how innocent Neal looked; pulling his own shirt off Peter dropped the shirt on the chest at the end of the bed. Once he was in his pajamas Peter grabbed the edge of the blankets and began to tug them away from Neal.

Groaning a bit Neal struggled to keep the blankets wrapped around him, Peter gave one final tug that made him slip and fall back so he was sitting on the floor and with the force of the tug he pulled Neal right off the bed and into his lap. Neal opened his eyes and sat up. "You could have just asked," He remarked as he pushed the blankets off and put them around Peter to keep him close, "and with both our phones are off; and we're now all alone," Neal said flirting with a smile before leaning in to kiss Peter.

Just as their lips touched Peter pulled back. "The floor is cold even with the blanket," Peter remarked. Neal sighed and sat up "I guess you're right, but it's your fault we ended up on the floor in the first place," Neal remarked as he got up and threw the blankets back on the bed before crawling under it quickly to stay warm. Moving under the blankets Peter barely got comfortable before Neal latched onto him for warmth. "I thought you were tired?" Peter asked as he tried to give himself some space. Neal pretended to pout, "I was but then I realized that I'm not actually that tired. I guess it was just a little fluke from such a filling meal but you being here have given me a second wind," Neal remarked with a purr.

"You know Neal I've always assumed that sex with you is like a con, a lot of little parts equaling up to the big score." Neal sat up and smirked "Oh really, well the first time I met you in front of the bank I thought you weren't bad looking and even though you were FBI I decided to stroke my ego and meet you face to face. The first thought went through my mind was how dangerous and exciting it would be to sleep with you," Peter felt a wide smile fall on his lips. Neal smiled his famous charming smile before pulling Peter into a kiss. Holding onto Peter tightly Neal squeaked in surprised when Peter bit his neck. "I'm not a chew toy you know…" Neal remarked as he tried not to moan at the feeling.

Peter growled at the comment and pulled Neal closer to his body, neither man noticed the fiery red sunset reflecting off the snow that had begun to fall in large clumps and stick to the ground. The younger man bit his lip when felt like laughing due to his ticklish ribs. Not wanting to be tickled Neal used all his strength he managed to flip Peter over and sit on his lap. Leaning forward Neal crossed his arms over Peter's chest to keep him pinned to the bed. "You're my prisoner now, to bad I don't have handcuffs…but in this position I don't think I really need them," Neal remarked with a purr as he put his head down on his arms.

Clearing his throat a bit Peter waited 'til Neal's guard was down before he flipped Neal back over and pinned him down against the bed, Neal didn't waste time pulling Peter into a kiss. Pulling away Peter smirked "I'm so glad there are no neighbors for at least a mile I really don't want to explain the noise level to the locals," he remarked with a smirk. "So you think I'm a screamer…you'll have to work hard to prove it, and since you chased me for years I know you can do it," Neal said in a challenging tone as he smirked.

* * *

Neal purred as the afterglow of sex slowly began to wear off as he nuzzled against Peter's chest and fell asleep. Peter didn't mind that Neal was so clingy after sex._ I never knew that Neal was so sensitive behind his ear,_ Peter thought as he rubbed Neal's shoulder softly. Closing his eyes Peter kissed Neal's forehead softly. It was at that moment he realized that loving Neal would be a full time job in of itself; Neal at times was like an overly expensive house cat that craved attention, fine wine and the occasional treat of art.

"Sleep well Neal," Peter whispered softly as he rested his chin on the top of Neal's head as he looked out the window at the falling snow before falling asleep as well. _Somehow this feels right even if no one else sees is that way, it took almost losing him to realize that he is so important to me._ Peter thought as his mind drifted away from him.

* * *

Peter woke before the sun even rose into the sky; he could see the sky turning from the rich royal blue to pale robin's egg. Looking down at the other man in his arms he worked quickly to slip Neal's tangled arms and legs off of him. He tucked the blankets back around his lover to keep him warm and asleep while his breakfast was being prepared. Creeping across the room Peter grabbed his warm robe avoiding the creaking floorboards as he snuck down the stairs to the kitchen. Bustling around as quietly as he could Peter grabbed everything he needed and began to work on Neal's and his own breakfast.

Fifty minutes later Peter had a large tray with two plates covered with buttermilk pancakes, powdered sugar French toast, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and two glasses of orange juice. Balancing the tray with ease Peter carried upstairs, and when he walked around the corner he smiled when he saw Neal sitting up in bed. "Breakfast in bed after great sex maybe I did make the right choice and get into the con artist game," Neal remarked as he let Peter put the tray down in front of him. Reaching out Neal grabbed a piece of French toast and smiled as he ate it quickly and smiled as Peter sat beside him. "I thought you deserved a filling breakfast, and it snowed last night…" Peter said as he turned his phone back on and put on the night stand but as he grabbed as a strip of bacon and started to lift it to his mouth his phone rang.

Grabbing his phone in his free hand Peter opened it "Oh good morning sir," Peter said as he listened to his boss and not wanting to go hungry Peter started to lift the bacon to his mouth only to have Neal reached over and divert the strip of bacon to his own mouth and quickly devoured it, but he held onto Peter's hand as the other man talked on the phone. Peter looked at his empty hand before looking at Neal with a 'how dare you steal my bacon' look. "Yes I'm still here sir, no we're just eating breakfast…since it snowed last night I will have to check to see if we can leave," Peter remarked as he watched Neal closely as he saw the other man smirk. Neal lowered his gaze before he pulled Peter's hand close and he started to lick the pads of Peter's fingers. It was Peter's turn to make a strange noise, clearing his throat quickly to cover the noise he made he looked at Neal and watched as he continued to lick his fingers clean.

Peter pulled away and got up from the bed and put his slippers on before he walked out onto the deck. Neal looked back at his breakfast and picked at it until all the toast was gone leaving his mouth was covered in powdered sugar which he soon licked clean. Neal then got out of bed and walked out onto the deck and put his arms around Peter's waist and held him close. "I'm gonna have to call you back sir after I've assessed how deep the snow is after breakfast." Peter said as he tried to rush his boss off the phone. When he was cleared to leave the conversation Peter quickly hung up the phone when he felt Neal's hand slip into his robe and up his chest.

"Don't get too frisky we need to talk…Jordan was found late yesterday night and after two hour specialized questioning, as the Russians put it, he's being returned to the States and he agreed to give a statement on his connections and how he got his drugs. Hughes pulled some strings and Jordan is being delivered to us to be questioned and if we play our cards right we can get the DEA off your case," Peter remarked. Neal nodded his head against Peter's shoulder blade. "I see, that means we have to head home and be there to clear up any lies he might tell. I know you planned for a whole week up here but if I can close this horrible chapter of my life then I'm all for it and we can come back up here another time for another trip…why don't you finish eating while I take a shower," Neal said as he pulled away and walked toward the bathroom.

Turning around Peter watched Neal walk across the room toward the bathroom wearing nothing but his boxers, groaning softly at Neal's actions he made his way over to the bed and picked at the cooling pancakes and what was left of the bacon and sausage. When he was done he quickly made his way downstairs to avoid seeing Neal in nothing but a towel. As he made his way down the basement stairs he glanced out the window at the fresh snow and opened the back door that led to the yard. "Only a couple inches… we can make it through this," Peter remarked as he turned around and went back inside and up to the master bedroom.

Going over to where Neal kept his duffel bag he grabbed it and tossed it at the bed, when it hit the bed it spilled on the floor. Moving quickly he started to pick everything up before Neal got out of the shower. As he picked everything up he grabbed a pair of wool socks off the floor, giving the socks a squeeze he heard something crinkle inside. Peter felt curiosity get the better of him as he reached into the sock and pulled a large wad of cash out of the sock. He checked to make sure the money was real before counting it. When he was done he gripped the money and walked into the bathroom just as Neal was stepping out of the shower a towel around his waist.

"You missed a really nice shower," Neal remarked with a smile, but the smile faded when he saw the look on Peter's face. "Care to explain why you have five hundred dollars in sequential twenties hidden in your socks?" Peter asked as he walked closer to Neal. Not missing a beat Neal reached forward and grabbed the money and tightened his hand around the cash. "How dare you go through my things, and I don't have to explain anything to you…"Neal huffed as he walked out of the bathroom and went to find some fresh clothes.

* * *

Not wanting to let the anger fester for too long Peter followed Neal and put his arms around him "Calm down Kitten, I'm sorry for reacting…I just thought you might have agreed to go on this trip just to run away…from the FBI… from me…it scared me for a moment," Peter said as he held Neal close. "Kitten...is that supposed to be a nickname for me? Well you need one as well, mmm how about Muffin," Neal remarked with a smirk as he pulled away and walked over to his bag and grabbed a black tee shirt and a pair of jeans. "So care to explain what you were doing digging in my bag?" Neal asked as he dropped his towel and began to dress.

Peter turned away to give Neal some privacy "I threw your bag toward the bed and it spilled open and when I was picking your things up quickly before you got out and I found the money. Curiosity got the better of me and I looked in your socks… you have every right to be mad," Peter said as turned back around and found Neal dressed. "You should know that curiosity killed the cat Peter, why do you think I nearly died," Neal said solemnly.

Before Peter could stop himself he blurted out the one question he had wanted to ask for the last two minutes. "Are the bills real?" he asked pointing to the wad of cash in Neal's hand. "Of course it's real unless you want to search my apartment for a printing press I think it's still in the closet and there still might be some stolen paper and toner under the bathroom sink next to the shampoo," Neal remarked coolly in reaction to Peter jumping to the conclusion that just because he was a con he printed fake money. Moving away from Peter the younger man shoved the money back into his bag before zipping it up and putting it aside. Neal then grabbed the empty tray and walked to the stairs.

"We're not done talking come back here," Peter called as he followed the other man down the stairs and into the kitchen area. Neal kept his back to his friend and lover "No we're done talking Agent Burke…" Neal bit as he started to clean off the remaining food off the plates and started to wash them. Right away Peter knew Neal was mad at him, the younger man hadn't called him Agent Burke since he was arrested… it was always Peter even during his trial. Sitting down at the kitchen table Peter put his head down whole he tried to figure out how to make it up to Neal for jumping the gun and accusing him of counterfeiting.

Neal smiled when he saw that Peter had made coffee and going over to the coffee pot he poured two cups of coffee before putting one in front of Peter as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder and watched as he sat up "I'm sorry… do you forgive me?" Neal asked hoping that they could put the water under the bridge. Peter smiled and nodded "Your forgiven Neal, now can you forgive me for jumping to conclusions?" Peter asked as he picked the coffee cup. Neal leaned over and gave Peter a quick kiss before grabbing his own cup of the Italian roast coffee that June had given them for the trip. "You're forgiven, and thank you for the breakfast it was lovely Muffin," Neal remarked with a smirk as he sipped his coffee.

Putting his cup down Peter looked across the table. "Once we're done we should pack up the food, and your art supplies and our bags and try to beat the traffic so that way we can get that whole meeting done with," Peter remarked as he finished up his coffee. Neal looked at his coffee and sighed softly "The agents from the DEA will be there won't they… the ones that worked with Jack?" Neal asked softly his hands shaking a bit in fear.

Peter put his cup down and reached across the table and took Neal's hands up and kissed them softly, "I will be sitting right next you and you don't have to answer anything you don't want to, but after Jordan gives his statement the DEA will have to accept that you are innocent and all charges will be dropped I'm sure of it," Peter remarked softly as he slowly released Neal's hands and stood up. "You finish packing down here I'm going to go and change," he added as he went upstairs to dress.

Smiling softly Neal moved around the kitchen and packed the food into the large box before he moved over to his art supplies and began to put them all in one large pile to be brought down to the car.

* * *

Once the car was packed Peter opened the garage door and pulled out of the garage on the snow covered driveway. Neal sketched as he watched everything go by. He smiled when looked up and found Peter watching him as they were at a stop sign "What?" he asked as he tried to figure out why the other man was watching him. "Nothing… I felt like looking," he remarked as he pulled away from the stop sign and turned south toward the highway. Neal smiled and put his head back against the headrest. As they traveled out of the mountains the snow was less and less.

"Tonight you can drop me off at June's that way you can have a little time with Elizabeth, I don't want to be the third wheel all the time," Neal remarked as he started to fiddle with the radio. Peter reached forward and stopped Neal from hitting the channel button, "Leave this on for a minute I want to know the scores," he said listening to the recap of the sports news. As they moved farther down the state Neal found watching the scenery boring, as he shifted in his seat until he was comfortable his head supported by the seatbelt.

Peter turned the radio down when he saw Neal was resting and when he realized he needed a pit stop he looked for a gas station and pulled into the first one he saw. He decided to leave Neal sleeping since he wouldn't be long. Locking the door behind him Peter went into the shop and looked at everything as he made his way to the bathroom. When he returned to the car he found Neal still asleep in the front seat.

Continuing on the trip soon the country gave way to the larger towns, after two hours Peter began to fight the city traffic. When they finally arrived at the FBI parking Neal was wide awake and mentally preparing himself to face Jordan again. "I can do this…" Neal said trying to reassure himself as they walked away from the car and into the FBI building. Peter flashed his badge at the front desk as they went through security.

The elevator ride seemed to take less time than normal and when the doors chimed open Neal walked out of the elevator first and walked toward Hughes's office.

"Burke…Caffrey good timing Wilson is going to be up here in two minutes, but before he gets here I just want to say that no matter what we're going to clear you Caffrey," Hughes remarked as he tried to take away any fear Neal had.

Soon the tell tale sound of the elevator chimed and Hughes walked between Peter and Neal, turning around both men looked at the unshaven prisoner who looked like he had been through hell his lip was still swollen and his cheek heavily bruised. The agent transporting the prisoner walked out of the elevator his hair slicked back and wearing a black leather jacket and dark pants.

Hughes stood in the middle of his agent and the consultant. "I'm Reese Hughes, and you are?" The young agent removed his leather gloves before putting them away, "Right… I am Nikolaĭ Kaffri Special agent of the Federal Security Service of Russia," the agent said giving Hughes a small salute.

Neal and Peter looked at each other before looking at Nicolai "No way…" they both said simultaneously.


	4. Chapter 4

(( here we go the story is getting good now hope you enjoy and review love all you guys who read and you know I don't own the main chars I wish I did))

**Chapter 4: Justice**

Hughes looked at the two men behind him. "Will you two explain what's wrong with you?" he said hoping someone would clear something up soon. Neal cleared his throat a bit. "Right introductions, sir this is my brother Nicolai…he never told me he was an agent, he told me he worked at a club," Neal remarked looking his brother over a bit.

"Sorry little brother I had to lie, I didn't need you spilling my big secret to mom and dad…now where do you want this filth?" Nicolai asked giving Jordan a good shove. Peter stepped forward and grabbed Jordan by the arm and dragged him away from Nicolai and the others. Dragging the man up the stairs into the conference room he shoved him into a chair his hands still cuffed behind his back. Taking a seat across the table Peter looked at the younger man. "When the DEA and DOJ officials get here you are going to tell them the truth about your connection with Jack Lawson and if you even think about lying I will personally crush you like a bug," Peter warned.

Jordan leaned back against the seat his shoulders cracking a bit as he tried to get comfortable. "I'm glad to be back in the States; at least I know I won't be smacked around because now I have rights…now if you want me to talk and be a good boy let me have five minutes alone with Lark or should I call him by his real name, Neal. So five minutes or I call in a team of lawyers and let you all fry in the fire," Jordan said with a smirk.

Peter slowly stood up and made his way to the doorway where Neal was standing waiting nervously for Peter to return. "Well what does he want?" Neal asked looking into the conference room at Jordan. "He wants to be alone with you for five minutes, but you don't have to go in there and listen to him at all," Peter said as he tried to keep Neal from going into the room. Neal smiled reassuringly "I'll be fine Peter he's handcuffed and you're out here; don't worry I know I'm safe," he said softly as he walked passed Peter and into the conference room and took a seat across the table from Jordan.

"It's nice to see you again; I wish I could hear you sing again you have a very nice voice. Then again you're voice can't compare to your body. Maybe you could pick these cuffs and then we could get to know each other again," Jordan remarked with a smirk that made Neal's skin crawl. "You said you wanted five minutes alone with me and that is all you're going to get, that means I don't have to talk to you or even look at you during that time," Neal remarked as he turned his chair away so he didn't have to look at Jordan.

"Oh no, if you don't talk to me I won't say a word," Jordan warned leaning forward in his seat. As Neal turned toward Jordan he felt his stomach twist in knots until he saw Peter and his brother standing behind the glass wall with both of them with their arms crossed over their chests the handles of their guns visible. Neal swallowed hard and looked at Jordan. "We have four minutes, what would you like to talk about for that span of time?" Neal asked crossing his legs and his arms.

With a smirk Jordan sat back in his seat and turned his chair a bit to look at Nicolai and Peter. "Oh they look intimidating; they really are protective of you aren't they," he remarked as he pushed himself to his feet and walked around to the windows. Neal watched Jordan closely. "Yes they are and there are two minutes now," Neal said keeping himself protected. Jordan gave a small laugh as he walked around the table toward the ex con artist, before he could get close enough Nicolai walked into the room and stood behind his brother. "Get back to your seat" he said as he watched Jordan walk back around the table and sit down before leaving and going back to where Peter was standing.

Jordan looked Neal over and honed in on the dark hickey on Neal's neck "Someone knows how to mark what's theirs very well you really should cover that up better when you're at work or someone might think you're easy," Jordan remarked with a smirk. Neal pursed his lips in anger and decided not speak for the last two minutes.

* * *

After the two minutes Hughes walked into the conference room flanked by Peter, Nicolai and the head of the DEA New York branch and a DOJ official. Peter took the seat on Neal's left and gave him a quick pat on the thigh to show him he was there for support. Neal looked over and smiled at Peter. Once everyone was seated and Jordan was un-cuffed Hughes cleared his throat. "Now were you or were you not working with Jack Lawson?" he asked hoping to clear Neal from going to jail, he may not have liked the younger man all the time but he knew that Neal was a great asset and friend to many of the agents in the department.

Jordan stretched his arms over his head "Yeah I was working with him, he would bust my competition and I would sell the drugs he didn't log into evidence for three times the amount and he would get a third of the money I got from my buyers. But he wasn't the one calling the shots, there was another man pulling the strings…he called himself the Puppet Master, I never knew his real name he never met in person all I knew is he would call like clockwork," Jordan said as he watched the DEA agent taking notes. Just as the agent finished writing the glass wall of the conference room shattered. Peter instinctively pulled Neal against him for cover he knew right away that someone had fired a gun.

Hughes stood up after a few minutes once he was sure it was safe and kept to the wall as he looked at everyone crouching in the bullpen. "Everyone make your way to the lobby downstairs and wait for further instructions. Jones! Diana! I need you to wait in the hallway," Hughes ordered as he walked back into the room.

Nicolai got up slowly and walked to the window and looked at it and whistled. "That was one hell of a shot, but from the hole in the window it was someone in building shooting from a room on the same floor as this for such a headshot as clean as this, even in my training I don't think I could pull something like this off," Nicolai remarked as he looked over at his brother and saw him looking at Jordan's body. Walking around the table he helped his brother up and removed his jacket and put it over his shoulders.

"Come on squirt I'm taking you home, it'll be safer there," Nicolai said as he careful began to lead Neal out of the room. Peter followed behind them until they were in the hall by the elevators. "You're going to take him back to June's?" Peter asked as he grabbed Neal by the arm and kept him from walking away. Nicolai turned around and kept his arm around his brother. "No… I'm going to take him to our home, where we grew up it's safer than leaving him in the city, he'll need to get the tracker off," Nicolai remarked. Peter shook his head. "He is staying right here it's safer for Neal to be where the FBI can watch over him," Peter said taking a step closer to Neal.

"The hell he is…he needs to be with his family it's much safer back home; no one knows where we live except family so if someone is after him then they won't be able to find him," Nicolai added as he tugged his younger brother closer. Peter grabbed Neal by the arm and started to pull him away from his brother. Hughes walked over "Burke I'm moving everyone upstairs to the twenty fourth floor. It's going to be a tight squeeze but it will only be for a few days while the windows are replaced," Hughes said. "Peter…from the looks of it Wilson was the target all along, I want the team pulled together in twenty minutes…so hand Caffrey off to his brother; he's still on medical leave. I need you here," he added looking at the brothers.

Neal looked at his older brother "Come on we'll go to June's it's one of the safest places in the city, we'll take your car but I need my things from Peter's car first," Neal said as he looked at the FBI agent and held out his hand for Peter's car keys. Peter reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. "I'll help you move your things; I still don't trust you with the car…just yet," he said pressing the down elevator button.

* * *

Once Neal's things were out of his car Peter looked at his partner. "I want you to call me the second you get to June's and after work I'll stop by to see how you're doing. I'll be checking your tracker and if you stray from the way to June's by more than a street for any reason except for a detour I will really let you have it," Peter warned as he looked from Neal to his brother. "The same goes double for you," he added pointing at Nicolai who he raised his hands up in defense. "Yeah…yeah I'll bring him there," he said getting behind the wheel of his rental car. "And I promise I'll call you when I get there," Neal assured as he got in the car.

After leaving the parking garage Nicolai pulled out a knife and handed it to Neal. "Okay cut it off we're heading home," he said as he pulled up to a stoplight. Neal looked at the knife in his hand and dropped it on the floor. "No we're going to June's, you really don't want bring Peter's wrath down on you, trust me I know what he can do," Neal remarked casually as he dropped the knife on the floor of the car. Nicolai sighed in defeat and tapped the steering wheel. "Fine, give me the directions to this woman's house," he yawned as he listened to Neal's directions to June's mansion.

Nicolai parked his car out front and looked at the house "Well I'll tell you this you surely don't stray far from your comfort zone," Nicolai remarked as he got out of the car. Neal chuckled "You should have seen Peter's reaction when he saw me sitting in front on the city view I have upstairs. Let's unpack the car," he said grabbing his duffel bag from the back seat. When they were done Nicolai looked around his brother's apartment. "You're really living the high life, I wish my place in Russia had a view like this, mines just bigger is all," he remarked walking over to the doors and looking at the view. Neal put his last bag down on the floor and walked over to his wine selection and looked it over right away he could tell that Mozzie had been in his apartment recently. Digging into his bag he found his cell phone and put it on the counter.

"Nick…can I ask you something, why did you go to Russia? I told Peter you went because you fought with our father…" Neal said taking a seat at the table. Nicolai turned away from the window and looked at his kid brother "Oh don't play stupid Neal you know damn well why I left. Dad and mom were stressed with Interpol hot on their tail and they weren't around for months and the times they were around dad always decided to take it out on me after a few dozen drinks. I still have the scar from the bookcase he shoved me against, you know the one that fell on top of me and broke four of my ribs," he said slamming his hand on the table.

Neal looked at the table "Well it didn't help that the first thing they heard from you every time they came home was you yelling at them all the time for leaving us behind, of course he would drink and even then you pushed his buttons until he snapped and he put you in your place, you always acted like a spoiled brat about it," Neal remarked looking at Nicolai. "Spoiled brat? Like hell I was, while mom and dad were running around the globe knocking off jewelry stores and switching fake paintings for real ones I was watching out for you. You're the spoiled brat, mom used to coddle you and give you whatever you wanted, while I had to work for everything, my cons weren't seamless enough or my forgeries weren't perfect enough for them, so I have every right to be pissed," he yelled ignoring the anger on his little brother's face.

Getting to his feet Neal felt his anger clouding his judgment "I've never been spoiled in my life, and if you hadn't been the biggest baby in the world and ran away I wouldn't have had to work so hard in my life to get where I am today. Not to mention I lost a lot as well getting this far, at least you still have your girlfriend mine died!" Neal yelled as he moved toward his brother. "Well you have a funny way of mourning her, first you lose your memory then you stupidly let yourself kidnapped twice by the same man then you throw yourself at a married man you work with. You're nothing more than a white collar whore," Nicolai said with a smirk only to have said smirk punched off his face by his younger brother.

Rubbing jaw Nicolai looked at his brother and growled as he tackled him against the table both of them rolling off and hitting the ground hard. Neal grabbed his brother's hair and pulled it as hard as he could. Nicolai grabbed Neal by the back of his hair and pulled and shoved him off hard enough into the glass windows and breaking a couple of the windows. Neither Caffrey noticed the apartment door open or the two police officers walking in from a local precinct followed by one of June's maid's. As they were pulled apart both men struggled as they were handcuffed and pulled out of the apartment.

* * *

Both men looked at each other as they were shoved roughly into the back seat of the police car. "This is your fault Nick," Neal said giving Nicolai a kick in the leg. Nicolai kicked back with as much force as he could manage. "You're the one that started all of this; you asked the question first about my past," Nicolai remarked as he continued to struggle against the handcuffs. Neal quickly shifted around and tried to get free but with someone sitting beside him he found it hard to get his hands free.

After a short drive Neal and Nicolai looked at each other from across the room, before Neal could even give a false name one of the officers walked up to him. "Alright Mr. Caffrey, we have found your information and have called your handler and from the sound of it he should be here soon, once I mentioned your name he used some pretty colorful language," the officer said a small smirk forming on his lips. Neal sighed and put his hands in his hands. "Oh god I'm a dead man…Peter is going to murder me…" Neal said to himself as he looked up when he heard his brother chuckle at his reaction.

When Peter arrived Neal looked down at the floor; he was visibly shaking hard enough to affect a glass of water two desks over. Peter walked over to him and stood over the younger man and looked at his brother across the room still handcuffed to a chair arm. Too furious to talk to them Peter walked into the Captain's office and talked the captain into releasing both men into his custody and after a little chat Peter managed to get the charges dropped with a promise of full governmental punishment brought down on both of them. After the brothers were un-cuffed from their chairs Neal followed behind Peter with his head down with his brother walking beside him.

Peter hadn't said a word to them yet the truth was he was too furious to speak to either of them. He quickly got them in the car and drove to the Burke's home. Neal whimpered, he knew right away he was in trouble and his fears were confirmed when they pulled up to the house. Peter pulled his cell phone out and hit a speed dial button. "Yes this is Special agent Peter Burke I'm calling to restrict the tracking device of Neal Caffrey at this address for twenty-four hours from two miles to a hundred feet…yes after it can be reset to its original setting of two miles at that address," Peter said as he looked at Neal in the rear view mirror with a 'just question this call I dare you' look, Neal shivered and closed his mouth without speaking. After getting the brothers inside Peter closed the front door with a small slam since he knew it was Elizabeth's day off and from the looks of the living room she was home.

Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen and saw the anger etched in Peter's face "Hey hon…what's wrong, and what's going on here I thought you and Neal were going to be up at the cabin for another four days?" she asked when she saw Neal looking around trying to figure out an escape route from the couch. Peter looked over his shoulder and quashed any thoughts in Neal's mind of getting out of the house.

"Well, we were going to stay but you remember that guy from the club case? Well he was found in Russia and brought in by Nick who turns out work for the government in a job that is the Russian equivalent of the FBI. As I was saying that guy Jordan was brought in and turns out someone wanted him dead because they shot him from three hundred yards away from a room on the same floor as ours… but this whole little story is after that, when these two were supposed to go to June's and call me when they got there but instead something happened and they got into a fight and June's maid didn't know they were in the house; so low and behold she called the police and they were arrested for fighting," he added glaring at the brothers. "So Neal is being punished with a hundred foot radius outside the front and back door until tomorrow," he added and watched as Neal lowered his head again.

Not wanting to take sides since Elizabeth knew Peter was mad "I have to go out for a while a client called the cake shop and she was told that the cake wouldn't be ready in time so she called me directly and now she's threatening to cancel the entire party. I have to go smooth this out. Can you try and not punish them too much? I think they needed to get this out of their systems in the first place," She said as she gave Peter a quick peck on the cheek before going over to Neal and lifting his head up and giving him a kiss on the forehead. "It's for the best sweetie…" she added before going out the front door.

Peter looked at Neal. "You know the drill get moving," he barked pointing at the dining room table. Not wanting to make Peter any madder Neal got up with his face flushed red from embarrassment as he bent over the table. Closing his eyes tightly Neal waited for Peter to begin. "You're going to get five hundred swats; that is the only way you're going to learn," Peter remarked as walked into the kitchen and came back with a large wooden spoon as he looked over at Nicolai on the couch. Neal closed his eyes even tighter as he felt the spoon hit his backside with enough force to nearly break the spoon in half. Neal cried out as his head fell forward and hit the table with a thud. Nicolai watched in horror as his little brother being spanked.

Not feeling protective at all Nicolai silently stood up and started to creep toward the front door only to come face to face with a growling Satchmo. "Nice doggy… shh…" Nicolai whispered hoping to calm the large dog down; he noticed the dog calmed down when he moved back toward the couch. Giving a defeated sigh Nicolai sat back on the couch and watched his brother get punished. By the thirty-fourth strike Peter felt his hand get tired of holding onto the wooden spoon and he dropped the spoon on the table and began to use his open hand on Neal's backside. Neal whimpered he could barely feel anything below his waist, he wanted to cry out but he was tired. "Enough Peter I've learned my lesson, I'm sorry I got arrested," Neal whimpered as he waited for the next swat.

"That's what I wanted to hear, I can tell you've learned your lesson now," Peter remarked as he helped Neal stand up with support from the table. Neal took a step away from the table and felt his legs give out. Peter caught Neal and supported him against his body as he guided Neal to the stairs and helped him up each step and into the guest room. After he got Neal comfortable he sat on the bed. "Peter…I'm sorry about the fight I didn't mean to but when Nick called me a white collar whore so I got mad and I punched him," he whimpered as he felt Peter push his hair around. "You just rest I need to go speak to your brother about this," Peter remarked as he left the room and went back downstairs to find Nicolai walking around the living room looking at his things. "Everything in the house is counted so don't even think of lifting anything, now we need to talk. Neal is sensitive and he doesn't need his own brother insulting him right now, you're going to go up those stairs and apologize to him," Peter said pointing at the stairs.

Nicolai groaned and walked up the stairs and went to Neal's room "Hey squirt… look I'm sorry for starting that fight, and I'm sorry I left home all those years ago, now you rest up I'm going to go watch some TV downstairs," Nicolai said giving his brother a smack on his already abused backside. Neal jumped up and rubbed his backside. "Nick you're an ass," Neal cried out as his brother left the room. Peter walked out of the kitchen with an ice pack and saw Nicolai laughing as he came down the stairs. "What did you do?" Peter asked, when he didn't get an answer he walked upstairs and found the younger Caffrey pouting. "Hey kitten, I brought you something to help with the pain," Peter said handing Neal the ice pack.

"Peter, be honest do you like being with me… in a relationship I mean? You don't think I'm throwing myself at you do you?" Neal asked thinking back to what his brother said earlier. Sitting on the bed Peter let Neal get comfortable on his stomach before he helped him put the ice pack on his backside. "In my honest opinion Neal, you've been on my mind the four years I chased you, I have to admit that even though I acted liked I didn't like the cards and gifts but I still kept them all in the chest at the end of my bed," Peter said softly.

* * *

Elizabeth decided her walk around the park would be enough time to convince everyone she had been busy with work, as she walked up the front steps she thought about what to make for a late lunch. She knew Neal and Peter's tastes but Neal's brother was a mystery to her; even when they talked in the hospital he barely talked about his life just things like the weather or if the coffee machine had been fixed at the end of the hall. "I see why Neal likes you; you're a lot like our mother. You baby him too, the whole forehead kiss thing she did that all the time when she went out on jobs with Dad… that's what made him so innocent he never got yelled at when he was growing up. After all he was the baby of the family and it was only after I left they actually put any pressure on him," Nicolai said as he got up from the couch.

"Why don't you join us for lunch, I guess my husband is making sure that Neal is comfortable?" she asked as she walked toward the kitchen. Nicolai sighed "I have no idea what their up to; maybe they are even having sex. Neal does seem more content at the moment and he's usually only like that when he's gotten something he wants. You think you really know my brother… you don't he can stab you in the back before you even realize it," Nicolai lied since he was bored and wanted to stir up a little trouble for fun.

Looking at the stairs Elizabeth stood up and walked to the kitchen she glanced up at the ceiling her curiosity; after a moment she realized what Nicolai was up to. _ He's good; he actually got me questioning my own husband... even after I told him I was fine with their relationship going that far,_ Elizabeth thought as she gathered the ingredients for chicken salad sandwiches and a deviled ham one for Peter.

* * *

Peter rubbed Neal's back and felt as he breathed in and out. Feeling that the younger man breathing so steadily he leaned over and found that Neal had drifted off, "Neal… we're going to be having lunch soon, come on I know you're hungry," Peter remarked leaning in closer. Neal smirked and rolled over his backside throbbing lightly as he looked at the older man and tapped his finger against his lips for a kiss. Not bothering to roll his eyes Peter leaned in and closed his eyes as his lips met Neal's, when he tried to pull away he realized that Neal had his slipped his fingers into his hair and was holding him in place. It took Peter a second to realize that there were only two ways to get free the first was to pinch Neal on his already abused buttocks or kiss his way out, choosing to do the latter Peter began to kiss the other man.

Neal matched each move Peter made with just a bit more force than the other man; so by the end Peter managed to pull away to find Neal panting a bit through parted bruised and swollen lips. "You said something about lunch?"Neal asked with a smile. Rising up from the edge of the bed Peter helped Neal up. "Before we go down Hughes wanted me to ask you if you were all right. What I mean is that you might feel fine now but later we don't know that's why I decided to limit you to this address," Peter explained.

"So what your trying to say is that you're making sure I don't have a panic attack from flash backs of my own shooting. Peter I'm fine I'll stay tonight but please don't worry if something starts to bother me I will tell you right away I promise," Neal said as he got off the bed and walked past Peter and to the door.

As they made their way downstairs Neal looked at his brother on the couch, and moving over to the couch Neal sat down on the open spot near the edge while Peter went into the kitchen to help with lunch. "So you're planning on coming home for Thanksgiving right?" Nicolai asked as he kept his eyes glued on the television. "Yeah just as long as I play the right cards and lie through my teeth well enough, I'll be there a few days early… Mom told me Grandpa was going to be there so we have to be ready for his speech again, now I'm starting to wish I was back in prison just to avoid hearing that again," Neal said leaning back against the couch.

Nicolai glanced at brother "He's still on about that? I thought he would have given up years ago especially after you went to jail… the only family member to be through the whole process," Nick remarked with a small laugh. Neal rolled his eyes "It was worth it to find Kate again, wait a second you were arrested when you were sixteen and you went to juvie for a month," Neal remarked. Nicolai smirked "That doesn't count…those records get sealed remember," Nicolai replied.

Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen a few minutes later carrying two sandwiches for the brothers, as she put the plates on the table and looked over at the couch where she found Neal and Nicolai curled up on either side of the couch sound asleep.

Peter walked out of the kitchen and stopped when he saw his wife looking at the couch. "We'll just wrap up their lunch, they both need their sleep," he said softly as he placed his plate on the table next to his beer. "They are quite the handful I now have more respect for their parents even if they are criminals they still had to deal with these two growing up," Peter remarked as he began to eat his lunch. Smiling at the view Elizabeth got up and found a blanket and covered the brothers to keep them warm. "I guess now is the best time to ask how your trip was, did Neal enjoy the art supplies you got him?" she asked quietly to make sure she didn't wake the sleeping guests.

"He loved them, I just hope I didn't give him he tools to create forgeries," Peter remarked with a smile as he worked on his beer. Elizabeth knew it was the right moment to pop her question. "So how was the sex?" she asked truly interested, Peter choked on his beer as he looked at his wife, he didn't know what to say, any other man would deny any affair. "It was what I expected about him, he is quite amazing," he said looking over at Neal asleep on the couch. "Is there video of it? I would have liked to see," she remarked with a smirk as she sipped her tea.

* * *

Neal groaned as he sat up and rubbed his eyes he looked around the semi dark living room and saw Peter sitting at the table watching him. "Where's Nick?" Neal asked groggily as he started to feel his mind get clearer. "He woke up an hour ago and he asked El to drive him to June's so he could get his rental and head home since his plane was leaving soon, he said he'll call you when he gets home. El is stopping by her place, to finish up some paperwork; she left you a sandwich in the fridge and some wine," Peter replied as he walked over to the couch and sat down. Neal looked around for a clock but when he didn't see one he gave up and sighed "I wonder why I was so tired?" Neal asked as he stretched the kinks out of his back. Peter shrugged his shoulders he wasn't going to tell Neal he had slipped him some sleeping pills instead on pain killers for his backside.

"So it's just the two of us… I like that," Neal remarked as he moved over and straddled Peter's lap and looked at him. Peter looked at the younger man on his lap, "I thought you would be too sore to do anything?" Peter asked as he placed a hand on Neal's hip to push him off. "If I'm going to be stuck here under house arrest I get to choose my entertainment Muffin," Neal said with a smirk."Please tell me that nickname is short for something more manly," Peter remarked as he started to push Neal away. "You know it is, it's short for Stud Muffin," Neal replied as he put his forehead against Peter's. "Maybe we can continue what we started earlier upstairs," he whispered with a smirk. Sliding his hand down to Neal's thigh, he pulled Neal into a kiss and close to him.

Purring loudly Neal and Peter didn't hear the front door open or Elizabeth walking into the living room. Neal shivered with the feeling he was being watched. Pulling away from Peter and looked behind them at his partner's wife. "Hey Elizabeth, we we're just talking about you… well sort of," Neal remarked as he tried to push away from the other man that was holding him close. Peter slowly let go and cleared his throat and tried to regain a clear head as Neal climbed off his lap. "Hey hon, did Nick get to his car in time to get home?" Peter asked trying to change the subject. Elizabeth stood there for a moment "Yes, he is probably on the plane now getting ready to take off," she remarked as she walked toward the kitchen. Neal followed behind Elizabeth into the kitchen "If I could I would go home and let you two have the night to yourselves but since I can't I'll stay down stairs tonight and I'll be as quite as a mouse," Neal remarked with a smile.

Elizabeth smiled "Oh Neal please don't worry about it I'm not jealous of you two and you don't have to say anything. Now about the upcoming holidays your brother warned me about your little plan," she said as she pulled the sandwich out of the fridge and handed it to Neal. "I'll be there earlier than Peter... I just hope your plan works and he's not too mad," she remarked smiling at the younger man. Going to the table Neal sat down and began to nibble at the chilled chicken sandwich. Peter moved from the couch and sat across from Neal. "Do you have any idea who the Puppet Master could be?"Peter asked as he reached over and stole a pickle from Neal's plate. Neal thought for a moment. "I don't know, I've never heard of someone giving themselves a code name for others to use. He values privacy and did you notice that the shooting only happened after Jordan mentioned the name Puppet Master, so either the shooter read his lips or Jordan had a microphone on his person," Neal commented as he took another bite.

Peter held up a finger and grabbed a file off the edge of the table "the inventory list, on the inside of the collar of his shirt was a pin microphone that transmitted via wifi connection, Jones tracked the signal to a building across the street between the two office buildings a block away from the FBI building. It was on the twenty first floor that the agents we sent over found a sniper's nest in an abandoned office, the gun was left behind but there were no prints so we're thinking latex gloves," Peter said as he filled his partner in Neal looked across the table at Peter. "Why couldn't we just have a nice boring case of mortgage fraud?"Neal asked with a small smile.

"Don't worry about it you're benched from this case, even when you get cleared to go back to work… The DEA dropped the charges against you for Jack's death now they're looking to clean their own house so to speak," Peter remarked as he let Neal finish eating.

* * *

When he finished dinner Neal found himself wide awake with nothing to do, so he walked around the living room, looking at the shelf filled with movies and books. Peter had decided to call it an early night with his wife leaving the ex con to fend for himself for the night. Neal decided he would rather read a book than watch a movie so after pouring himself a glass of wine he sat on the couch and began to read. By the end of the book Neal was bored and he didn't know what to do it as it was close to ten and being under a very restrained house arrest which was starting to get to him already.

Getting up from the couch Neal paced the room a few times; he needed to get out of the house but the farthest he could go was to the curb and a few steps in either direction. Before he started to rip his hair out Neal walked out the front door and sat on the front steps with the cold air feeling good on his face. He felt nervous and jumpy in the house something was bothering him but he couldn't put his finger on it. Once he was sure he had cleared his head Neal got back up and walked into the house and tried to find something to occupy his mind until he fell asleep. Neal growled when he looked at the time and saw it was two in the morning, he didn't know why sleep was escaping him. After a long internal argument he turned the television on with the volume turned way down, he flipped a couple channels before landing on a movie, in nine minutes Neal was out like a light the soft blue glow of the television flickering around the room.

Peter woke early the next morning he slipped out of bed and walked downstairs and found Neal asleep on the couch the television was still on and an old black and white movie was playing. Grabbing the remote from the coffee table Peter turned the TV off and made his way into the kitchen to make coffee. As the coffee pot did its job Peter walked back into the living room to watch Neal sleep. Neal begins to move his head from side to side a look of pain on his face. Moving in closer Peter looked at the younger man to comfort him he barely touched Neal when the younger man began to start screaming and sat up. Neal was breathing heavy as he looked around and saw a very worried Peter looking at him.

"You're all right, thank god" Neal mumbled as he threw himself into Peter's arms and held onto him tightly. Peter held the younger man and stroked his hair; he knew that Neal would have a nightmare sooner or later after the shooting. "I'm right here Kitten…just breathe…" Peter said softly as he pulled Neal to the couch and sat down beside him. Neal tightened his hold around Peter to make sure the other man was really there, "I had a dream that you were… were on the plane with Kate and I knew about the bomb and I couldn't warn you in time to get off and the bomb went off and…and… you died," Neal said as he buried his face against Peter's shoulder.

Peter sighed softly. "It was a bad dream Neal I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere I promise," he said softly as he rubbed Neal's back. Neal slowly pulled away and rubbed his eyes before leaning in and kissing Peter for a moment. When he pulled away he smiled. "It's nice to see you are really here," Neal remarked as he nuzzled up against Peter. "Do you really have to go in today?" he asked as he began to nuzzle Peter's shoulder. "Yes, they need me to help solve this case but I before I go in I'll bring you back to June's that way you won't go too stir crazy in my house. I'll go get dressed why don't go and get some coffee; I made some Italian Roast that we had left over from the stuff June gave us," Peter remarked as he stood up and looked back at Neal and held his hand out.

Neal took the hand offered to him as he stood up. "Before you dress how about a proper good morning kiss," Neal remarked giving Peter a quick kiss. Pulling away Peter smirked and looked at his lover before grabbing him by the back of the neck and pulling him into another kiss. When he finally let Neal go to breathe he walked past him to dress.

* * *

Once he was dressed Peter took the cup of coffee Neal was holding for him "Elizabeth was worried when she heard you yell I told her what happened, she thinks you should lay off the wine before bed," Peter remarked as he sipped his coffee. Neal chuckled "Yeah I guess chicken salad and wine don't mix well with insomnia," Neal remarked as he followed Peter to the car and got into the passenger side.

As they drove to June's Neal watched Peter as he drove with his coffee clasped tight in his hands "You know I never actually just sat and watched you Peter, you're fascinating to look at," Neal remarked as he sipped the coffee he was holding. Peter chuckled as he pulled away from the stop light and drove down June's street but when he pulled up in front of her house he parked and killed the engine before walking Neal up to his apartment with his travel cup of coffee in his hand. Neal looked around his apartment and saw the windows in the doors were repaired.

"I have to get going Hughes wants everyone in early, this shooting has everyone on edge at the office so I can stay for a maximum of five minutes and don't even think of even trying to get me to stay later than that," Peter said as he sat down on the loveseat and looked at the ex con standing in front of him. "You shouldn't sit if you don't plan on staying Muffin," Neal remarked with a smirk as he put his coffee down and climbed onto Peter's lap. Peter smirked and tapped Neal on the tip of his nose. "Nice try Neal but I'm going to work and nothing you do or say is going to stop that," he remarked as watched the gears in Neal's head began to turn.


	5. Chapter 5

((I want to thank everyone for reading and I hope you enjoy the surprise and the hottness, once again thanks to Peppe and my fans now please enjoy))

**Chapter 5: Dealing with the Devil**

"Oh Peter I'm sure I can get you to stay for ten minutes, maybe twenty at the most" Neal said with a purr as he nipped at Peter's jaw and began to loosen his tie. "I said no Neal…I have to get to work," Peter argued as he began to push Neal away. Neal didn't let up as he leaned over and nibbled on Peter's weak spot…his ear. "Humor me I don't get to ogle you at work today so I need my fix for now or how else am I going to survive this day?" Neal asked as he leaned around the wall and locked the apartment door.

Peter contemplated the offer and pulled Neal back onto his lap. "You get fifteen minutes no more… no less do you we have an understanding?" Peter asked and not even bothering to answer Neal grabbed Peter and yanked him into a kiss that stole the agent's breath away. Soon they were stumbling across the small space to the bed in the small alcove that acted as the bedroom of the apartment. The moment Neal hit the bed Peter pinned him down with one hand to keep the other man from taking control and forcing him to miss work.

Neal never admitted it to Peter but he had always fantasized about being dominated by him, he knew that the agent wasn't dangerous but his level of control in the relationship was what made Neal feel like his blood was on fire. The thought anyone other than Peter taking control in the relationship bothered him; he didn't trust anyone else enough to lower his guard enough to put his safety in someone else's hands. After a couple minutes Neal had managed to not only get Peter's tie off but to throw it on the bed behind him. Just as things began to get hot and heavy Peter pulled away and looked at his watch with a smirk. "Fifteen minutes on the dot; I'm going to be late if I don't leave now," Peter remarked with a smirk as he grabbed his tie and began to put it back on.

Sitting up in shock Neal crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance "Oh don't pout, I'll call you around lunch time to see how you're doing. Please stay out of trouble for one day. Why don't you paint something that will keep you busy for most of the day," Peter said as he finished tying his tie. Neal rolled his eyes and stood up and undid the knot. "You're hopeless without help you know that," he remarked as he quickly redid Peter's tie without even looking at it. "Perfect now go make some other con's life a living hell for a while," Neal joked as he sat back down on his large bed. Peter smirked as he patted Neal on the head only to get a dirty look from him, with another smirk he leaned in and gave Neal a small kiss before he pulled away and headed for the door. "Maybe you should take a cold shower," Peter said with a smirk as he unlocked the door.

Grabbing a pillow from the bed Neal threw it at Peter as the man caught it and dropped it on the couch. "I'll talk to you later Kitten," Peter said with a smirk as he walked out and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Groaning loudly Neal fell back against the bed and put his arm over his eyes as he took in a deep breath before pushing himself up to his feet. Making his way across the room Neal stripped down to his boxers as he walked into the hall to his bathroom, where he turned on the lights as he walked to the mirror and looked at his reflection before walking over to the large shower and dropping his boxers. He then turned the cold water and steeled himself before stepping into the cold water.

Neal gasped as the cold water hit his skin causing him to back against the wall and slide down until he was sitting on the floor with the water pounding on his chest. _ Its official…Peter Burke is a drug and now I need him to survive …_ Neal thought as he ran his fingers over his wet hair, panting lightly he put his head back hard against the wall with a large cracking sound. Neal let the cold water beat against his body until he was sure that his lust was cooled. Once he was sure he was sated he slowly got to his feet and shut the water off. _Damn Peter… he worked me up then left, well he's going to have to deal with the repercussions later…_ Neal thought as he planned how to deal with his lover and punish him for leaving him in such a state.

Wrapping a towel around his waist Neal left the bathroom and walked back to his bedroom to dress. After digging through his bags from his trip Neal, dressed now only in a pair of sweat pants that hung dangerously low on his hips with his dragon tattoo still marring his right side, set up the easel Peter got him and placed a large pre mounted canvas in front of him while he prepped the paint on his pallet. He then imagined the painting within. Soon Neal began to work from the corner. _Peter loved that view from the hill and if I paint it maybe I can give him the finished painting for Christmas that is after he suffers for his actions today. _ Neal thought as he slowly moved from the corner and began to move across the canvas. Neal barely paid attention to the clock as he continued to paint.

By noon he had finished half of the painting; and then looking at the half finished painting Neal walked over to the fridge and began to root around for something to eat. After finding something still good he glanced back at the painting and closed his eyes to remember the stunning view. Thus motivated Neal finished his meal quickly and went back to work.

Picking up the pallet off the edge of the table Neal grabbed a thin paintbrush and began work on the details on the trees trunks. But before he could touch the brush to the semi dry paint Neal heard his cell phone go off. He sighed lightly before putting the brush down and walked over to where he left the phone.

Grabbing his phone off the counter Neal connected the call and put the phone up to his ear "This is Neal… oh Peter… I'm fine; yes I took a cold shower thanks to you. Yeah of course you can drop the folders over tonight, I'll look them over…really the temporary office is that small; well I don't envy you guys at all. I guess you're wishing you stayed here with all the Italian Roast coffee and me; more than enough for you to handle," Neal remarked with a smirk.

* * *

Peter wanted to smack his head against his desk he knew Neal was trying to seduce him over the phone, he knew for a fact that Neal's mind operated in a way that when he put his mind toward something he either went through with it until he gets what he wants or he's stopped by the FBI. Peter knew he had to quash any plans that were beginning to form in Neal's mind. "I have dinner plans with El tonight so I won't be able to stay longer than two minutes to drop the files off, I hope you can respect that since I know you don't want to make her mad," Peter said using his secret weapon of the understanding wife card.

Neal wanted to pout but he knew that Peter was right he needed to respect Elizabeth's rules, "Alright I promise I won't jump you the second you walk in the door; I actually have a painting I'm working on so I would like to get it done before the other paint dries, I'll see you when you get here tonight. Oh by the way just so you know I'm wearing sweatpants and that's all and they are hanging dangerously low," Neal purred as he heard Peter clear his throat.

"I'll talk to you later then Muffin," Neal said smirking as he hung up the phone and grabbed his pallet and brush and went back to work on the painting with a large smirk on his face that he knew Peter was thinking of him and not about any case that he might have been working on._ It looks like we're even now and the best part of it is Peter can't take a cold shower._ Neal thought as he began to hum as he worked.

Peter knew it would take all of his will power not to slam his head against his desk until he was unconscious just to keep the mental images of Neal at bay while he tried to concentrate on the files in front of him. He barely noticed Diana walk into his temporary office. "So I see Neal is working his magic from a distance, you look like you're about to beat yourself unconscious…" she said with a chuckle. Peter looked at his former probie and rolled his eyes as he picked up the file on the desk in front of him and hid behind it, and hoped Diana would leave but after a couple minutes he knew she wasn't going to leave.

"Is it really that obvious?" Peter asked only to get a nod in response, "Fine, let's drop it… now what are you here for?" Peter asked trying to change the subject and keep his mind off a nearly nude Neal doing only god knows what in his apartment. Diana smirked "The trick to stopping the images is to think of something equally distracting and work towards that goal… for example instead of thinking of Neal think about going for coffee and think about what you want to order and you're mind is so distracted you forget the first thing in your mind."

Looking at his agent Peter just chuckled "You've never seen Neal when he turns on his full charm and that's a hard thing to forget… but I will give it a try thanks Diana, now are you going to tell me why you came in here?" Peter asked trying to keep his mind busy. Diana finally gave in to her boss's request since she could see he was wrestling with a hard task of keeping his mind off of Neal. "The bullet was finally found in the wall; it's pretty beaten up but we pulled a caliber and it's a .308 and it's a one in a million shot; and somehow somebody pulled it off," she remarked putting the report on Peter's desk.

After a moment of silence Peter began to chew on his bottom lip before he pulled a sheet of paper out of his printer and grabbed a pen as he made a chain connecting everyone in the case. "Now according to Jordan he and Jack were working for a man who called himself the Puppet Master which means he was pulling their strings … my only worry is that this man has some sort of grudge against Neal. We have no idea what Jordan was ordered to do or not to do. I don't like just sitting here in the dark waiting for the next piece of this bizarre puzzle," Peter said tapping his pen against the papers on his desk.

Diana looked at the file open in front of Peter "You're worried about Neal, two men who were both connected to the same man are now dead and they both had contact with Neal, and that's what scares you the most," Diana said reading her boss like an open book. Peter looked down at the file once more before closing it. "I nearly lost him once and it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life, so I guess I have the right to worry," Peter remarked his thoughts drifting to Neal in the club basement on the brink of death. Clearing her throat Diana walked towards the door, "Jones is going out to pick up the take out do you want your usual?" she asked hoping to snap Peter out of his worried thoughts. Peter nodded and put his pen down on his desk. In the back of his mind he wanted to know what Neal was up to.

* * *

Neal looked at the finished painting and smiled as he stretched; his back and legs were sore from standing for so. He then washed his brushes and put them away in their respective drawers along with the paints and his pallet. When he was done cleaning up he looked at the painting once more and knew it was perfect, there wasn't a leaf or a blade of grass out of place his signature was hidden in the grooves of the rocks that made up the edge of the cliff, the painting looked so real that Neal swore he could feel the chill in the air and the smell the autumn wildflowers hidden in the valley. "Peter is going to love it," Neal said to himself with a small yawn. After he was sure he could move the painting Neal carried it into the back closet where he had a second easel set up to hold the painting until it was dry. Once the painting was safely hidden Neal straightened the apartment a bit, "Peter won't be here for while I guess I can take a little nap…" he remarked softly as he walked over to his bed and dropped down with a flop.

After a few minutes the cloud soft bed sucked Neal in and he was out like a light. The apartment was bathed in the golden light of sunset by the time Peter arrived and knocked twice before opening the door; he looked around the apartment and found Neal asleep on his bed. _ He must have tired himself out doing something; he's going to get sick if he sleeps on the covers._ Peter thought as he put the file down on the table and made his way over to Neal's bedside. Doing a little juggling Peter managed to get Neal under his covers and tucked in; looking at the younger man sleep Peter smiled and gave Neal a small kiss on his forehead, smiling when he saw that Neal still slept.

Peter moved away from the bed slowly and slipped out of the apartment and closed the door silently before leaving June's to go home to his wife and the dinner she had ready for him. _ Neal is going to be very upset for falling asleep but maybe it's a good thing I'll be on time for dinner tonight._ Peter thought as he left June's and started his battle with city traffic to get home.

* * *

The clock on Neal's mantel ticked softly in the dark apartment, Neal rolled over and hugged his pillow tighter as he began to slowly wake up. As he felt sleep slipping away from him Neal felt as if there was a presence in his apartment and sitting up slowly Neal kept still as he felt the blankets pool in his lap as he scanned the dark apartment for any signs of moment. When he was sure the apartment was empty Neal reached over and fumbled in the dark until he found the lamp on the nightstand and turned it on. The glow from the lamp only covered so much space, moving carefully out of bed Neal walked across his apartment and looked for anything out of place.

As his eyes scanned the room his gaze fell on a bottle of wine sitting in the middle of his kitchen table with a small business card leaning against it. Walking closer to the table Neal felt himself begin to shake as he picked up the card. All it had written on it was a location and a time. Neal looked at the wine bottle and picked it up, after examining the bottle he put the bottle back down and swallowed the lump in his throat.

Neal made a beeline for his phone on the counter as his fingers wrapped around the device he thought about calling Peter, but after a moment of staring at his phone he put it back down and practically ran to his closet to dress. Neal quickly pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a tee shirt, to complete his look of blending into the city Neal pulled on a zip up hoodie and walked toward the exit of his apartment, on the way he grabbed his cell phone as a force of habit and shoved it into his back pocket along with his house keys.

Slipping through the house silently Neal walked down the sidewalk and shoved his hands into the hoodie pockets to keep them warm, even though the meeting wasn't for an hour he still had to walk there. By the time he got there he was feeling beyond paranoid that he had been followed the whole way there by something in the shadows of every building he passed. Walking in a large circle Neal threw his arm up to shield his eyes from the blinding blue headlights of the car that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"It's been such a long time Neal; I almost didn't recognize you… I never thought I would see you lower yourself to wearing cheap jeans and a hoodie like a common law abiding citizen. So how is life treating my former protégé?" the voice asked as a man walked away from the open door of the car and into the light. Neal bit back a shiver from the cool November air. "I'm doing alright I don't make all that much being the go to guy for the FBI, I barely make enough to stay where I do," Neal commented as he took a step back away from his former mentor.

Vincent Adler chuckled "I saw the view it's not bad for a consultant's salary. Before we get to the reason why I asked you here let me just say I'm sorry to hear about Kate… she was a lovely girl and she will be greatly missed," Adler said as he took a step closer to Neal. Neal nodded his head as he tried to move his blood around to keep warm. "I miss her a lot; now you wouldn't have called me here unless you really needed to speak to me since you know who I work for," Neal said gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering.

With a small chuckle Vincent held a gloved hand out to Neal. "Why don't we sit in the limo it's warm in there and you look cold," he offered with a smile. Neal reluctantly moved forward toward the open door of the limo as he climbed inside he felt the heat hit his face and begin to warm him up right away. Once the car door shut silently Neal realized he had been very stupid and it could have been a trap, "Now what is so important that you had me walk all the way here in the middle of the night…and how did you manage to get into my apartment?" Neal asked as he relaxed into the fine leather seat of the limo.

"All in due time Neal, first things first I have a job that requires your expertise and I wouldn't come to you if I could find someone else but I can't and I'm running out of time; the item in question will be leaving the museum circuit and going back to private hands at the end of December. You have the skills to get it for me once it hits private hands; I have all the information about the house and the security system," Adler said as he sat back against his seat across from Neal.

Neal shook his head "No, no I learned my lesson when I worked for you last time… now if that's it I'm going home," Neal remarked as he reached for the door handle. "What if I helped you; you do this job for me and I help you by finding out what really happened to Kate," Vincent said knowing just what to say to bring his former lap dog back into his graces. Right away he could see Neal's mind grasping at the chance to learn more. "You know what, I don't plan on doing the job until after Thanksgiving so spend some time with your family and think about my offer, here take this card and call me when you decide what you're going to do… and we'll give you a ride home," Vincent said motioning for his driver to take off.

After a few minutes Neal found himself standing outside of June's mansion, he looked at the business card in his hand "I think I may have just made a deal with the devil," he whispered as he walked inside quietly and slipped up the stairs like a cat. Once he was back in his apartment Neal made a beeline for his bed and collapsed onto it.

* * *

Diana walked into the temporary office for the White collar Unit agents were bumping into one another for the second day in a row. As she looked up at Peter's office and saw him asleep at his desk. "Did he even go home last night?" Diana asked as she looked at Jones who had been shoved into a smaller desk than he was used to. "He passed out about two hours ago when his caffeine fix ended I would have made more but we ran out of coffee and the stores were all closed, I'm going to go and get some more soon," Jones remarked as he typed up a report on his computer.

Before he could even finish, the doors opened Diana smirked when she recognized Neal's trademark hat as he walked in with stacks of coffee cups piled up like a tower Diana walked over and helped him by taking a few of them "I didn't know you were coming back today Neal," Diana said as she put the coffees down on an empty desk. Neal smiled he was standing before the female agent in black jeans and a black turtleneck with his favorite grey fedora "I came in early, and decided to bring everyone coffee," Neal said as he grabbed two of the coffee cups and made his way to where Peter was asleep at his desk. Kicking the office door shut behind him Neal was glad that the office Peter was occupying didn't have large glass walls that faced the small bull pen but in fact had a normal wall and a wooden door.

"Time to wake up Muffin," Neal said softly as he sat across from Peter and smirked that the desk was open in front. As he sat down he slipped one of his loafers off and traced his foot up Peter's leg and watched as the FBI agent shot up in surprise. "Neal… what are you doing here?"Peter asked as he saw Neal smirking. "I called Doctor Parker and told him I was ready to return to work and I brought everyone coffee and I missed you, so he signed off on the paperwork and here I am ready to work. But I'm also here to make you pay for yesterday," Neal remarked as he moved his foot higher up Peter's leg until he heard the man squeak almost in shock.

Peter pulled his chair back out of Neal's reach to save himself from Neal's actions that would eventually end with the younger man being shoved against the door. "I know what you're trying to do and I'm putting my foot down now, nothing is going to happen at work… now due to the smaller space you're staying right there and you will behave or I will put you over my knee is that understood?" Peter asked. Neal nodded as he took his hat off and placed it on the corner of Peter's desk. "I understand fully Peter I will do everything you ask of me, I'll be good today I promise," Neal said holding up three fingers "scouts honor" he added with a smile.

Looking back at his paperwork Peter kept a straight face as he responded. "You were never in scouts, now just sit there and twirl your thumbs or something, I wasn't expecting you back so soon so I didn't actually look for any cases for you to look over and keep your feet on your side of the table," Peter said as he reached for his coffee and sipped it.

Neal watched Peter as he worked and after a minute he as bored, "I'm going to go and steal a painting and put a forgery in its place I'll be back in an hour" Neal said with a smirk. Looking up Peter saw the smirk and flicked his pen at the door. "Lock it first then get over here," he said gruffly as he watched the younger man lock the door and walk around the desk. Neal smirked and straddled Peter's lap and pulled on his tie so he was closer and began to slowly undo his tie before tossing it aside. Peter couldn't stop himself, he quickly latched on and sucked on Neal's pulse and turned the younger man into mush. Neal had to close his eyes to control his breathing so as not to let out any moans loud enough to be heard outside of the office.

Peter moved away from the love bite on Neal's neck and captured his lips, Neal jumped when he felt Peter's chair turn and the hard wooden desk press into his lower back. Biting his cheek hard to keep silent Neal felt a shiver go up his spine. _This is going to be the longest work day ever…_ Neal thought as he let out the smallest moan.

* * *

Dante walked into the cramped bullpen and dropped his bag and helmet on his desk, "Morning Jones…Diana it's nice day isn't it, who brought in all the coffee?" he asked grabbing a cup that hadn't been claimed yet, Diana looked up from her paperwork "Neal did and he's up in Peter's office, they've been in there a few minutes with the door shut. We've tried to figure out what they could be doing in there, maybe Peter is laying down some new ground rules," Jones said unaware of how far Peter and Neal's relationship had gone. Diana shrugged "Maybe he's bringing him up to speed on the current case," she remarked.

"I doubt it, I'll bet you two hundred bucks it's more than work going on in there, give them six minutes then knock on the door and see how they look when they come out," Dante said as he pulled his checkbook out. Diana smirked and pulled her check book out and waited, after six minutes Jones volunteered to knock as soon as he knocked he heard Neal yell they would be right out.

Neal managed to bring his breathing under control as he looked for Peter's tie but when he couldn't find it he nixed the idea and went back to straightening his clothes in record time before he looked Peter over and opened the door and walked out "How can I be of service today for you wonderful FBI agents?" he asked smiling a thousand watt smile. Dante smirked when he saw his cousin and scanned him quickly; right away he saw Neal's swollen lips and ruffled clothes. Diana and Jones opened their check books and began to fill the checks out; when they were done they handed the checks over to Dante and went back to work.

Peter scowled at his agents then looked at Neal, he knew what was best for them, but before he could speak Neal smiled at him "Excuse me I need to speak with Hughes about something," Neal said as he squeezed past Peter and motioned for Dante to follow him. Right away Peter was confused as he watched Neal walk into the office with his cousin. After a couple minutes Peter walked back into his office, as he sat down he spotted his tie hanging off the edge of the bookcase, grabbing the tie he shoved it behind his back as he sat at his desk._ I might have to have Neal do something else today outside of this office or I'm going to end up doing something I'll regret. _ Peter thought as he filled out some forms.

An hour passed before Neal walked out of Hughes' office with his cousin, and knocked on Peter's door lightly. "It's almost lunch time how about a nice place nearby, Dante's treat," Neal suggested. "I can't I have to take a conference call about this shooting, but you go and enjoy yourselves," Peter said with a smile. Shrugging his shoulders Neal headed for the door "All right then we'll just take his motorcycle, and don't worry I'm going to wear his extra helmet," Neal commented as backed out of the office and left the building with Dante. Dante looked at his cousin with a smirk "You're sure he's going go for it?" he asked as he started his bike up.

Laughing Neal put the extra helmet on "I know Peter very well, if I plan it right he'll be on the doorstep… he might be livid but he'll get over it very quickly," Neal said as he put the visor down on his borrowed helmet before Dante took off and headed out of the parking garage. Dante laughed as he drove down the street before pulling into the small free parking lot and parked in the last free spot. Neal stretched as he stood up and removed his helmet.

"I bet you're glad you get a lot of practice straddling things with Burke around," Dante commented with a smirk, Neal flushed red and smacked Dante in the shoulder. "This coming from the guy who tried to give his own cousin a hickey," Neal remarked as he walked into the small restaurant. "You're not going to let that go are you, I apologized for that you know," Dante argued as he sat across from Neal. Both men looked at each other and began to laugh. Dante twirled his fork in his fingers. "I still can't believe you managed to convince Hughes to let you do this, and then again you did make a convincing argument," Dante remarked as he picked up his menu and looked it over. "I am very good at choosing my words, and promising that I would have an agent with me at all times really did make him agree. Do you really you think it was all right to lie to Hughes and say that Peter knows about this?" Neal asked as he looked down at his menu.

Dante looked up "I'm sure it will be fine, you only need to hope that Hughes doesn't say anything for two weeks so Peter doesn't find out or the surprise is ruined," he remarked. Neal sighed and nodded as he made his choice for lunch and ordered. "I just hope you're ready to feel Peter's wrath for what we're planning to do," Neal remarked as he tried not to smile. "You'll protect me I know it, we are family after all…" Dante remarked as he waved a waitress over. "You keep telling yourself that," Neal said as he sipped his glass of water.

* * *

Elizabeth walked into the master bedroom carrying a couple empty bags; she dropped the bags on the bed causing Peter to wake from a deep sleep "El it's six in the morning…wait why are you packing?" Peter asked sitting up in bed, his first thought was his wife was leaving him. "First Neal starts acting very strange at work and he has avoided me outside of work also for the last two weeks, and now you're packing your clothes… and mine?" Peter asked looking up confused. Smiling Elizabeth pulled open another drawer "We're going away for Thanksgiving, now get up and get dressed we have a train to catch," she said whacking Peter with a pillow until he got out of bed.

Groaning loudly Peter slid out of bed and dragged himself downstairs for some coffee before he dressed, as he walked through the dining room he noticed an alert on his computer was beeping, sighing he tapped a few keys and saw Neal's tracking information coming up on the screen blinking red and saying he had left his two mile radius. Peter let out a string of curses loud enough for Elizabeth to hear him. "Peter what's wrong?" Elizabeth called from upstairs.

"Neal's left the state…it looks like our trip has to be canceled, I'm going to go find Neal and drag him back here and spank him good," Peter called from the first floor. Elizabeth smiled as she continued to pack "Where does it say Neal is anyway?" she asked already knowing the answer. Getting up from the table Peter stomped upstairs and quickly began to dress. "It says he's in Greenwich, Connecticut. I want to know how he got thirty miles out of the city without anyone noticing," Peter remarked as he pulled his shoes on. "Well that's perfect because that's where I'm taking us for our vacation, we'll just pick him up on the way home," Elizabeth remarked as she zipped up the bags. "Go get Satchmo's leash and we'll go I got us a ride from Jacob next door; he's already promised to get our mail. I have our tickets and we should hurry if we want good seats," she said trying not to let on anything.

After they rode to Grand Central and boarded the train Peter rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance that Neal would run away, and as soon as the train began to pull away from the station he had tried to get answers from work but no one had a straight answer. "Honey, just forget about it; you can get the truth out of Neal later," Elizabeth said softly as she leaned back in her seat, the train car was nearly empty at six-thirty. The conductor walked through and didn't comment on Satchmo sitting there when he saw Peter's FBI badge clipped to his belt.

An hour later Peter stepped off the train with his wife and dog and as they walked down the platform a man in a black suit walked up to them. "Are you the Burkes?" he asked professionally. Elizabeth smiled "Yes, you must be our driver," she said as she followed the man to the waiting town car. Peter handed their bags over. Soon Peter and Elizabeth were sitting in the back seat with Satchmo on their lap.

Peter had a feeling his wife knew exactly where they were going; a ten minute car ride brought the Burkes through town and up into the richer looking neighborhoods where the houses seemed to explode in size, Peter pulled his cell phone out and called Jones "Jones I need to know where Neal is," Peter said as he watched the car turn off the road and up a long pebble driveway. "You're moving right towards him," Jones remarked as he looked at the data.

"Uh… thanks Jones, I'll see you after the holiday…" Peter said before hanging up, when the car pulled up into the driveway that was as large as a parking lot. Elizabeth looked at the large brick mansion with the immaculate hedges and clean lawn. When the car stopped Peter slowly got out of the car and whistled at the size on the house. Turning in a circle to look at everything around him Peter heard Satchmo begin to bark and tug at his leash. Satchmo pulled away and ran toward the front door.

Spinning on his heel, Peter saw Neal crouching down and rubbing Satchmo's belly smiling at the loveable dog "I'm glad you guys made it, and you're early, the rest of the family will be here in a couple days…" Neal said not noticing Peter's face until he looked up "Oh… your mad aren't you…" Neal remarked as he stood up and walked closer to Peter.

The agent resisted the urge to throw Neal over his knee and begin to spank him like there was no tomorrow, "Care to explain how you managed to get here without my permission?" Peter asked very serious. Neal smiled "Hughes gave me permission, turns out as long as I'm with an agent I can go pretty much anywhere… and it turns out in a loophole that Dante falls under the category of an agent… I might have also told Hughes that you already knew about the plans and you were fine with it," Neal said backing away slowly. Peter felt his blood pressure shoot through the roof at that moment. "I… how…I can't…later… you are going to get it later for this stunt," Peter remarked as he walked away from Neal and followed Elizabeth inside leaving Neal to bring up the rear.

Neal looked down at Satchmo "How much trouble do you think I'm in?" he asked the dog, Satchmo bowed his head and put his paw over his muzzle. Giving a loud sigh Neal nodded "That's what I thought," Neal remarked as he grabbed Satch's leash off the ground and walked him inside.


	6. Chapter 6

**(( I would like to thank Peppe again for betaing, now I hate to sound mean but unless I get more than six reviews on this chapter I might put this story on hiatus, which means that I won't get back to it...hopefully people will review because I would like to finish this series)) (( loves and hugs BBB~)**

**Chapter 6: Family**

Neal cautiously walked into the house with his furry friend. "Why don't I show you guys to your room," Neal said as he handed Satchmo's leash over to Elizabeth and grabbed their bags. "You won't get lost and if you ever need help just ask me for help since your room is right next to mine," Neal remarked as he tried to break the tension between him and Peter. "I bet you planned that out didn't you," Peter quipped as he walked up the stairs and marveled at the mansion's interior, it screamed fancy and not to be touched. Elizabeth smiled "Peter just let it go. Neal isn't here illegally; he asked permission even if he had lied a bit he still came here under FBI guidelines," she said as she walked into the large guest room that was the size of their entire first floor back home.

Peter yanked his bag out of Neal's hold and tossed it on the bed "You're still in big trouble but I think I'll let you stew with worry about when you're going to get punished for this," Peter said as he looked at the younger man. Elizabeth rolled her eyes "I'm going downstairs, now play nice you two," she said smiling as she walked out of the bedroom and back down the stairs to the dining room where she heard voices coming from.

Natasha got up from the table and smiled at her guest "Elizabeth it's so nice to see you again, how was your trip?" she asked leading Elizabeth to an empty seat by the table. "It was very nice, I'm glad you said Satchmo could come but may I ask where he might be staying since I assume you don't want dog hair everywhere," she remarked as she took her seat.

Nicolai put his fork down on his plate. "He'll be staying with my dogs and mom and dad's at night but during the day he's free to wander," Nick said giving a short whistle bringing two Dobermans into the room. "You don't have to worry; they are friendly to other dogs. Puka and Dimitri are just angels, great with kids and they even saved my life once," Nick said as he slipped his dogs a strip of bacon each.

Elizabeth smiled and unhooked Satchmo who right away went over and began to sniff them after a moment all three dogs crouched down and began to run around and towards the kitchen. Soon everyone was back to eating as Elizabeth was brought a plate by one of the family's staff.

* * *

Leaning against the doorframe Neal watched Peter as he sat on the bed, _It's been a few weeks now and I can't stop thinking about that offer Adler gave me… I steal one little thing and I can find out the last piece of the puzzle,_ Neal thought lost in his thoughts. Peter watched Neal chewing on his bottom lip deep in thought, and moving from the bed Peter stood before Neal and looked at his eyes and saw that Neal was so lost in his own world that he didn't even realize he was standing there. Reaching forward Peter tapped Neal on the nose making him jump. Feeling his heart rate go back to normal Neal realized Peter had moved from the bed, "Sorry I was thinking about something," he said softly as he looked down and avoided Peter's gaze.

Right away Peter knew that Neal was hiding something. "Neal, what's wrong? You look troubled," Peter commented hoping that Neal would tell him what was bothering him. However the ex con looked at his lover and gave a weak smile "I'm sorry; I was ignoring you the last two weeks I just didn't want you to find out about this surprise," Neal said changing the subject away from his behavior. "Kitten…I know when you are lying to me, now don't change the subject and tell me what's wrong. You look like you want to talk about something but then you don't want to," Peter said knowing Neal is being secretive.

Neal moved away from the doorframe and kept his eyes down as he walked into the room and closed the door so they could have some privacy. "I'm just worried about the holidays, seeing family I haven't seen for over four years," Neal lied putting up a smile to hide his lies. Not wanting to push it any farther Peter walked to the door and stood facing it "You know you can tell me anything, don't take this the wrong way Neal but I thought you trusted me, so what changed?" Peter asked as he opened the door and walked out of the room. Neal slowly followed Peter and dragged his feet "Peter… I…I'm glad you're here I missed you," he said softly as he followed Peter to the dining room. Sliding into his seat between Neal and Elizabeth Peter said his hellos as a plate was brought out to him.

"Sweetie, are you feeling alright; you don't look well?" Natasha asked looking at her youngest son as he pushed his cooling eggs around his plate. Neal looked up with a smile to see everyone looking at him "Yeah…I'm just not really all that hungry," Neal remarked as he put his fork down and handed his plate over to his brother. Natasha wiped the worried look off her face before looking at her sons "Your Grandfather wants to come for a visit today I need one of you to pick him up," she said calmly. Nick dropped his fork at the same time Neal jumped up from his chair, both young men made a mad dash for the door.

Nicolai grabbed his brother by the back of his shirt and tried to pull him away from the door "I had to drive him here yesterday, it's your turn!" he yelled trying to escape first. Neal grabbed onto the door frame and ignored the fact that he was being choked by his own shirt. "That's enough you two now sit back down and behave like two men in their thirties not a couple of two year old boys," Natasha said putting her foot down. Nick and Neal slowly made their way back to their chairs until Nicolai looked at his watch. "Shit, Catherine's plane lands in an hour and I have to get to Windsor Locks before it lands," Nicolai said as he reached over and flicked Neal's nose hard "have fun with Grandpa," he added as he ran out of the house and into his car and peeled out of the garage and down the driveway.

Rubbing his nose Neal groaned and got up from his chair "I'll go get Grandpa," he said softly as he walked by Dante and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him out of the dining room. "You have to come with me since you are legally my guardian for this trip, and also he might go easier on me if you're in the car. Now let's go," Neal said grabbing the car keys off the key ring and made their way to the garage.

* * *

Dante groaned as he got into the back seat of the car and waited as Neal drove through town to a nice home, Neal looked in the rearview mirror at his cousin. "Dante… later we need to talk about something I need your honest opinion on what I should do," Neal asked as he got out of the car and went to the door and knocked. Neal waited until the door opened and his grandfather came out using his cane to walk to the car. "It's good to see so you well Grandpa, now let's get going…" Neal said trying to get back home as soon as possible.

After a quick car ride home Neal helped his grandfather inside and into the living room with Dante taking up the rear. "Daddy this is Peter Burke and his wife Elizabeth; Peter is the FBI agent that arrested Neal…Peter this is my father Admiral Tobias Bell," Natasha said from her seat. "Burke…you a military man at all in your career?" the older man asked. Peter shook his head. "No sir, the FBI recruited me right out of college and I've been with them ever since," Peter said calmly.

"College sounds nice; Natasha couldn't get her boys to go. I told her for years that the boys needed structure which the Navy would have given them that and get them into college after they served their country. But not only do they both run away from home but one of them becomes a convict and the other is a Commie," Tobias said before looking around the room before adding, "Where is the little Red anyway I thought he would be here for the berating that is waiting for him," Tobias said as he looked at his youngest grandson. "Neal… you look terrible, Natasha are you feeding this boy… he looks like he's about to pass out," Tobias remarked using his cane to poke Neal. Peter looked at his partner and saw Neal did look ill, "I'll help him upstairs…come on Neal," Peter said softly as he helped Neal to his feet and helps him out of the room and up to Neal's bedroom.

Neal hung onto Peter as he was put to bed "I know you're hiding something Neal and I'm going to find out you know that right? I know you too well to know that you're not really sick only that you're making yourself sick with worrying about something." Peter said pausing as he helped Neal into bed and propped him up with pillows so he was sitting up. "Now you can either tell me what's wrong, and get better or you can get worse," Peter commented as he picked up Neal's hand and began rubbing his thumb against the back of Neal's hand. "Peter… what if I was to say hypothetically that there is something bothering me and…" Peter held up his hand and stopped Neal from finishing his sentence "Let me just ask, is this one of those hypothetical talks where it's actually the truth and you're trying to see how I would react to the news or is this just a true hypothetical talk?" Peter asked trying to get to the truth. Neal thought for a moment "The second one, I just wanted to know how you would react to a certain situation," Neal remarked as he twisted his sheets in his hands.

_That means Neal is hiding something that he knows I'll get mad at so he wants to ask about my reaction before he does it which means it's something illegal and potentially very dangerous,_ Peter thought as he looked at his younger lover. "Go ahead I'm listening," he added as he prepped himself to keep his anger in check. "Peter, what would you say if I told you I was able to do something for some information about something important and this something I would have to do may involve breaking into a private residence and steal something of value," Neal said trying to be as vague as possible to keep himself legally safe until he decided on the offer.

"As an FBI agent I am obligated to say that I would have to arrest you if you did anything like that no matter what kind of information it was; on the other hand as your lover I have to say that I'm a little offended that you are possibly keeping this from me and making yourself sick, but since this is completely hypothetical then you now know my answer and I hoped that helped," Peter said hoping that Neal would come clean and tell him the truth. Smiling softly Neal watched Peter for a moment before speaking "It did help, and now to deal with this stomach bug before the holidays, I'm starving…can you make me something to eat, something that isn't spicy or doesn't smell," Neal requested with a smile, he hoped Peter wouldn't see through his lie about his illness. "Homemade chicken soup with extra egg noodles and carrots, light on the peas with four shakes of sea salt and two of cracked black pepper," Peter recited knowing Neal's preference for soup since he had learned one night on surveillance for a case and they had talked about everything they could think of to stay awake.

Giving a bright smile Neal put his hands on his lap. "You're really going to cook me soup from scratch, you're too good to me Peter I can see why Elizabeth married you," Neal remarked as he chewed his lip a bit. During the last two weeks Peter noticed that Neal had taken up the habit of chewing on his lip when he was lying or hiding something, but not wanting to question him again he kissed Neal on the forehead and ruffled his hair. "I'll go start the soup you just rest, now is there anything else I can get you?" he asked hoping that he could get the truth out soon.

Thinking for a moment Neal wiggled around a bit in thought "Nope I'm good, just some soup and maybe you'll cuddle with me a bit while it cooks?" Neal requested with a pout, "I guess for a little while, let me start the soup first then I'll come back after a little while and that will give me time talk with your family as well," Peter said as he headed for the door and left the bedroom.

"He's got you so whipped that it's not even funny; and it's not a stomach bug trust me, this started the day we got permission from Hughes. During lunch he just picked at his food it was obvious his mind was elsewhere I could tell right away but I didn't question him but now even I'm worried about him. He's gone on this long and I'm pretty sure he hasn't been sleeping well either. On the train ride here yesterday he was so quiet. Something happened that night before he came back to work and he's not telling anyone it seems," Dante remarked as he followed Peter to the kitchen.

* * *

When he was sure Peter was gone Neal got out of bed and grabbed his cell phone from his bag and the business card with the number on it, as soon as he dialed the number he made sure the number was saved before tearing the card into little bits before throwing the bits of paper out the window and crawling back into bed. He put his phone on his nightstand and glanced at it once more before getting more comfortable._ So Peter will arrest me if he catches me… I will have to make sure I don't get caught. I know it's wrong and Peter said it was illegal but knowing the truth about Kate and her final minutes I need to know…_ Neal thought as he shifted a bit until he was comfortable in bed and warm under his blankets.

Peter looked around the kitchen he began to dig around looking for all the ingredients to make the soup, he noticed that at Neal's parent's home that they had a few servants and that they seemed to cook their own food. Dante sat at the island counter and tapped his feet on the floor as he watched his co-worker. "Dante… can I ask you something? Why did Neal and his brother try to run away earlier when their grandfather was mentioned?" Peter asked as he filled the large pot with water. Smirking Dante leaned back in his seat. "I don't know much but what I remember is that when Nickolas and Neal were left with their grandparents sometimes to be babysat… their grandfather used to make them train for the Marines, he also used to spank them with his cane or a belt for hours, he tried to beat the weakness out of them. I guess they are just reacting to that; I mean they were only like two and five years old at the time," Dante said as he grabbed one of the carrots off the cutting board and took a large bite out of it.

Grabbing a knife Peter prepared the meat and vegetables and put them into the pot to cook "Watch that soup, I'm going to go talk with Neal...for a little while," Peter remarked as he left the kitchen and went back upstairs and into Neal's room. As he walked into the room Peter closed and locked the doors behind him before he made his way to Neal's bedside and sat down on the edge. "Peter, what's…?" Neal was cut off by Peter's lips on his; not letting the other man get away Neal grabbed the front of Peter's shirt and pulled him closer.

As soon as the need for air became a priority Neal pulled away and closed his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. "I'm sorry that I ignored you for two weeks, it looks like that it makes you upset," he remarked as he tried to clear his mind, the overly stuffed goose down pillow cushioned Neal's head and protected him from hitting his head on the headboard behind him. Peter looked at the younger man "Neal…your hypothetical talk before got me thinking, what if the person you may or may not steal this item for what will happen if they back out of the deal and leave you holding the bag? You'll go back to jail…I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of having to watch you locked away in a jail cell," Peter said softly as he got up and moved around the bed and laid down beside Neal and pulled him into his arms.

Neal closed his eyes and thought about Peter's words "I wouldn't go back to jail because I would never fall for such an easy trap, and I have you… you would never let me go back to jail would you… you would protect me wouldn't you?" Neal asked as he sat up and searched Peter's face for the answer. Thinking things over Peter pulled Neal closer so their foreheads were touching "I love you Neal but my job comes first and I will put you in jail if you do anything that breaks the law," Peter said as he pulled Neal into another kiss. _ This means if I choose to do this job for Adler I'll go back to jail… if I'm caught, so that means I just can't be caught,_ Neal thought as he returned the kiss and stayed close to Peter. When they pulled apart again Neal purred and leaned close and whispered a few things in Peter's ear as he used his skills to unbutton the dress shirt that Elizabeth had insisted Peter wear that morning until each button was undone.

"It still amazes me you can do that you can do that without me even noticing your hands," Peter hissed when he felt Neal's cold hand touch his skin. Neal smirked as he ran his hand along chest "You know you left me very hot and bothered a few weeks ago, maybe I should do the same to you…at least this time you can shower that is if I let you get up off this bed," Neal purred as he nuzzled against Peter's neck. "As much as I want to spend all day in bed with you Neal I would like a tour of the house and the grounds, and I thought you were sick anyway?" Peter asked as he saw Neal sit up and look away.

* * *

Sitting up Neal gave a fake huff of annoyance "I am hungry, so I guess I can postpone sex for a while," Neal remarked as he got out of bed. "I will show you around, I think there will be one part of the yard you will like the most. But first…" Neal leaned back and pulled Peter into one final kiss before he letting the man go, "I really want that soup you've made, maybe you can add it to your list of food you can cook," Neal remarked with a smile. Peter gave Neal's back side a playful slap, "don't get cute Kitten or you won't get any soup at all," Peter remarked as he fixed his clothes and began to fix his hair.

"Well we started the tour with your room, mine, the dining room and the kitchen; then we should go to the back yard and the gardens. It might sound boring but it's nice out there," Neal remarked as he grabbed Peter's hand and dragged him down the back stairs and into the kitchen, he let Peter stop and stir the soup before he pulled the older man out the back door and onto the patio that overlooked the gardens.

Peter looked the immaculate yard over "I still can't believe you and your brother grew up here, how did your parents afford this and raise you two… wait don't answer that I have a feeling that the statue of limitations haven't run out yet," Peter remarked as he let Neal pull him down the stairs and down a path into the hedge maze that made up the garden. Neal smiled "You're right about that, somebody could go to jail if I tell you how they paid for this place," Neal remarked as he led Peter through the hedges to a large area of open land. "Special permits were bought for this but we have a stable and a few horses since we own the house that comes with approximately thirteen point fifty acres of land but my grandfather bought the nine acres of land behind the house for my mom and aunt to have their horses and their riding ring and what they needed when they were younger," Neal said as he led Peter into the stable.

"Do you know how to ride?" Peter asked as he made his way over to one of the horses and scratched the horse behind his ear, Neal smirked. "Of course I know how to ride, Nick does as well how else do you think he got girls to like him he told them he had horses and they always wanted to come over and see them" Neal remarked. Peter watched as Neal talked to the horse and petted its neck softly. "From here we can go to the fountain and the center of the maze," he added as he grabbed Peter's hand and walked out of the stable and led him back down the field to the hedge maze. When they got to the fountain in the middle of the Neal walked over to the lounge chair and waited for Peter to sit down before Neal crawled on top of him laid out like a large cat. Peter smirked he realized all Neal needed was a large tail and a pair of cat ears to make it a full package.

Right on cue Neal began to purr when Peter's hand slid up and down his back. Both men sat and enjoyed the silence of the world around them, the gentle bubbling of fountain made Neal smile "So what do you think so far?" Neal asked softly as he tried to keep a straight head on his shoulders, Peter thought for a moment as he looked around. "It's nice, it's very you...what's funny is that a year ago if anyone had told me I would be lying on a lounge chair behind a huge mansion owned by Neal Caffrey's family and I had that said person draped over me I would have thought they were crazy," Peter remarked with a smile. "Keep those hands where I can see them Neal…"he added when he felt Neal's hand move from his chest.

Giving a devilish smirk Neal decided to ignore Peter's warning and moved his hand lower, as Neal's hand reached the top of Peter's pants a loud air horn blared above both men and making Neal jump backwards off the chair and into the tall rose hedge behind him. "You see I told you that old air horn worked," Dante said laughing as he walked out from behind the hedges with Neal's older brother in tow. Neal freed himself from the rose hedge; his back and face covered in lightly bleeding scratches "You two realize that this means war right?" Neal asked as he dusted himself off and locked eyes with Nick before looking at Dante. "Same rules as always, no bodily harm that warrants a hospital visit and no breaking any of Aunt Nat's things unless you want a slow and painful death, so are we agreed?" Dante asked looking at his cousins "So agreed," replied Nick and Neal at the same moment.

Nicolai smirked as he began to walk away. "See you later shrimp…oh and don't worry Agent Burke you're not a part of this, you'll only get pranked if you're caught in the cross hairs, right before I forget its ten points apiece for Dante and me and zero for you," Nicolai remarked laughing as he walked off with his cousin leaving Neal to stew with annoyance. Neal walked around the lounge chair and dropped himself roughly into Peter's lap and pouted. "They always get me first in our prank wars and I always end up losing," he huffed as he fell back against Peter's chest so his head was nestled under Peter's chin.

Peter ignored the pain Neal had caused by sitting on him so hard and sighed. "Just leave me out of any pranks you're thinking of Neal or I will put you over my knee and spank you so hard you won't be sitting until Christmas," Peter warned as he let his arms drape over Neal and hold him close. Neal slowly got to his feet and held a hand out to Peter. "We should check on the soup," Neal remarked as he pulled Peter through the hedge maze and into the kitchen. "It still has to cook a little longer…Neal?" Peter looked at the younger man and saw him looking around the room.

Neal checked that his brother and cousin were nowhere to be found "Peter can you check the soup to make sure they didn't spike it with anything," he remarked checking the pantry for any signs of the other two pranksters. Walking over to the stove Peter stirred the soup and tried some and found that it tasted fine. "Don't worry they didn't do anything to it," Peter said calmly. Neal closed the pantry door and stuck his head into the living room; he was so preoccupied with his search that he didn't hear Peter walk up behind him.

"Any sign of them?" Peter asked making the younger man jump a bit, "That's not funny Peter… this war has been going on since we were little kids and every single time I ended up losing," Neal said sighing as he walked over to the small kitchen table and sat down. After a few minutes Dante and Nick walked in their hands held up. "Peace, we came for lunch… the soup smells really good and we wanted some is all," Nick said as he sat beside his brother and watched as Neal scooted away from him.

Dante slid into the seat on the other side of Neal and placed a basket of wheat rolls on the table. "You three are at peace right now so try to remember that while we eat," Peter said as he brought three bowls of soup over to the table with ease. As he placed the bowls down he smirked as he placed his bowl down and sat down, Dante handed the spoons out and smiled. Soon they were digging in to the homemade chicken soup, the three cousins dug into the soup quickly. After a moment their eyes were watering and their mouths were on fire. All three of them made a grab for the wheat rolls in front of them on the table.

"I do believe that is thirty points, ten for each one of you…" Peter remarked with a smirk as he grabbed a roll casually from the basket. Neal rubbed his eyes as he chewed the bread hoping that the bread would help with his burned tongue. "Looks like you got us good Burke… and you're in the lead but we will get you back and it will be good I promise you that," Dante said with a smirk. Neal looked at Peter and pushed his bowl away from him. "Did you spike the whole soup or just our bowls?" Neal asked with a glare. Peter reached across the table and took Neal's bowl. "The rest of the soup is fine but Neal you can have mine," Peter said exchanging bowls with his young lover. Neal looked at the bowl cautiously for a moment before trying a small sample to make sure it wasn't spiked with hot sauce also.

* * *

Neal chuckled when his brother and cousin decided to leave to plan on how to get Peter back. "That was very devious; you do realize that I will have to get you back Muffin," Neal remarked as he finished eating. Once they were done and the dishes were put in the sink Neal looked at Peter. "Why did you prank me too?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest. Peter knew that he would have to explain himself and quickly to keep from upsetting Neal; "I'm sorry, you were a casualty of war Kitten, how else was I going to get Nick and Dante to stop picking on you. I thought if they believed I was the new fair game they would go after me more than you, especially after I knew you were worried about something that you still won't tell me about. Now you're free to worry all you want and plan on how to get them back," Peter explained.

Letting his arms drop from his chest Neal was at a loss for words at what to say next "Peter…the night before I got permission to come here I…"Neal stopped speaking when his future sister in law walked into the kitchen. "Darling mladshego brata, it's so good to see you again," Catherine said as she hugged Neal. Smiling Neal pulled back after a moment, "I'm so sorry that we didn't get a chance to talk more at the reunion," Neal said smiling.

_I was so close to finding out what Neal's so worried about… now I have to get him to lower his guard again to tell me,_ Peter thought as he left the kitchen and looked around for any signs of Nicolai or the rest of the family in the living room as they talked art with Elizabeth, he parked himself on the couch beside his wife, looking across the vast living room he saw the two prank happy cousins talking to one another and watching him closely.

Natasha looked at Peter and Elizabeth. "How would you two like to see pictures of Neal when he was little?" she asked as Neal walked into the living room. Right away Peter smirked "I would love to see what Neal looked like when he was a child. The more embarrassing the better," he said as he patted the couch beside him for Neal to sit beside him. "Mom, please don't show them… anything but that..." Neal begged as he covered his eyes as his family circled around and started to look at old photos of him.

"Here is a photo of all the boys when Neal was four which means Nick was about six, so was Dante, and Romano would have been five and Adrian had just turned two. This was just before Christmas and Vincent and Bianca were visiting for the holidays and the older boys decided to start some ridiculous prank war by cutting all of Neal's hair very short. We had to put a hat on Neal for months," Natasha said as she ignored her youngest son's pleas to stop.

Neal groaned as he heard Peter chuckle at the pictures of his earlier days, "Neal you were so adorable you had such cute light brown hair as a baby," Elizabeth said as she looked at a picture of Nick and Neal with both boys pouting and covered in paint neither of them looking older than nine and seven. "There has to be a story behind this one," she said pointing at the photo. Nicolai laughed "I remember that, Neal had painted his first perfect forgery of 'The creation of Adam' from the Sistine Chapel, and I was jealous because he was younger than me and I shoved him and then he shoved me and we both got in trouble… it was the first time Neal was grounded and the tenth time that year I was grounded," Nicolai said laughing.

Peter smirked and saw Neal wasn't enjoying the trip down memory lane. "Peter you cannot tell anyone about anything you see here… I mean it," Neal warned as he tried to sound threatening. Peter chuckled "I don't know, after the mustache photo you passed around maybe I should get you back by passing a couple of these photos around," he said as he clapped Neal on the shoulder only to get a dirty look from his younger lover.

* * *

Once Neal had enough of Peter getting a peek into his past he excused himself and ran off to the one room he knew he would be safe; the wrap around library that looked in on the indoor pool. _I'll hide here for a while no one will think to look for me here,_Neal thought as he looked over the books on the shelf as he ran his finger over the spines of the books while walking around the length of the library. After walking the first floor he made his way up the spiral wrought iron stairs to the second floor and took a seat on the large chair in the corner. Neal kicked off his loafers and curled up in the large chair to get comfortable as he decided to wait his family out until he was sure it was safe to go back.

Peter knew he would have to find Neal and make sure he wasn't pouting or worse planning his revenge on his earlier practical joke. Walking down the hall Peter found the library and he knew right away if Neal was looking to hide somewhere this is where he would go. Moving silently Peter tiptoed up the staircase and over to where he figured Neal would be hiding and there he was dozing in the chair with his hair mussed up and hanging over his eyes. _ This seems too easy I should be careful…_the vacationing FBI agent thought as he walked over and started to lean over.

Jumping up Neal pounced on Peter and ended up pinning him to the floor. "No one comes up here so we've got all the time to be alone," Neal remarked smirking. "I came here to tell you that your mother is taking El to a couple local galleries and your father said he's going to pick up some extra food for when his family visits. So we're not really alone, your brother and cousin are still here," Peter said as he managed to push Neal off of him.

Neal smirked and sat up. "Since you pranked them they are going to avoid you for a while and if I'm with you then I'm safe, so how about we go for a swim in the pool," Neal suggested as he got up and helped Peter to his feet. "Don't worry about a bathing suit no one is going to walk in on us if we lock the library doors then we'll be safe," Neal said as he led Peter down the stairs to the pool room and began to shed his clothes until he was diving into the pool nude.

Raising his eyebrow at this Peter watched Neal swim around with perfect ease. "Peter will you just get in the pool already, if you don't I'll splash you until your clothes are soaked… so either get in the pool and keep your clothes dry or get soaked and be forced to walk all the way back to your room dripping wet," Neal remarked as he treaded water. Peter rolled his eyes and quickly undressed and got into the pool at the far end away from Neal. He was wary of being in the pool during the twilight hours. "Neal, if someone so much as sees us I will put you over my knee and spank you," Peter warned as he tried to relax. Neal smirked as he swam closer to Peter and took to sitting on the step behind him. "Come here, this should help," Neal purred as he started to rub Peter's shoulders. "No wonder your such a grouch all the time you're so tense, I bet if you were more relaxed you wouldn't be quick to punish me all the time," Peter pulled away and swam to the center of the pool when he was sure Neal was behind him he turned around and made his move to pin him against the wall.

"Now you're going to tell me what you were about to say in the kitchen before, as you said we're all alone now so spill," Peter demanded as he ignored Neal's squirming. "Peter…I went to the docks near June's and I was afraid that if I told you would think I was trying to run away," Neal lied with the straightest face he could muster. "If you were still in your radius I never would have thought you were running away," Peter remarked as he held Neal close. _He's still hiding something and it's looking like he won't tell me and I won't be finding out the truth until he's in trouble. _ He thought as he moved back letting Neal go free from where he had been pinned. Neal let out a sigh of relief as he ran his wet fingers through his hair.

Purring loudly Neal circled the older man like a shark and latched onto him "Where do you think you're going Agent Burke?" Neal said with a smirk.

* * *

Nicolai looked through the railing of the second floor library with Dante beside him "Now we just have to wait until they are too preoccupied to notice us," Nick whispered as he watched his brother and his FBI squeeze. Dante nodded as he kept an eye on the two piles of clothes by the pool. Neal looked at his hands, "I'm going to get out before I wrinkle up," Neal remarked with a smile as he gave Peter a quick kiss as he slid out of the water and grabbed his clothes and made a grab for Peter's clothes.

"Put them down Neal… and if you know what's good for you you'll get back here so I can keep an eye on you, and if you don't think I'm serious then keep this in mind, if you steal my clothes I'll deny you any alone time you might want with me," Peter remarked as he turned and looked at the younger man. "You wouldn't dare!" Neal said turning around and looking at the other man. "Try me… I'll get out this pool and take my clothes somewhere else to spend my time," Peter warned as he watched Neal drop the clothes in a pile and stomp back over to the pool edge like a child about to throw a tantrum.


	7. Chapter 7

**I would like to thank my fans for reading and reviewing and I will not be putting this on hiatus as long as I keep feeling the love hehe, thanks Peppe for betaing and my loyal fans for reading and betaing and I hope you love this chapter **

**Of course I do not own white collar if I did this who series would have happened or would happen iin season 3  
**

**Chapter 7: Mark of the Devil**

Nicolai smirked as he slipped down the stairs, keeping out of sight he waited until he heard Neal get back into the water and start to fool around as Peter's newly nicknamed 'FBI boy toy'. Only when he was sure he wouldn't be spotted Nicolai slid into the pool room and grabbed the pile of clothes and left a note behind in the pile's place. As he left the pool room he met up with Dante on the second floor before they slipped out the door and locked it behind them. Then they dumped the clothes on the hallway floor before heading down to the media room.

"Seriously Peter I'm going to get water logged if I don't get out now," Neal said as he turned around to get out. When he saw his clothes were missing, he slipped halfway out of the water and grabbed the note off the floor before sliding back into the water beside Peter. "Dear Neal and Peter, we've decided to team up for this prank war, P.S. we locked the upstairs door so you'll have to walk through the house nude. P.P.S. better hurry before someone comes home and sees you, love Nick and Dante." Neal read as he put his head back on the edge of the pool. Peter looked around and sighed "Once you fix this I am going to burn you bottom red," Peter threatened as he looked at Neal.

Neal smirked "Calm down Peter, they used to do that to me all the time when they were little so I learned how to fix this problem," Neal remarked as he got out of the pool and ran over to a large dresser and opened the bottom drawer where he pulled out two robes. "I put these in here yesterday when I got here, just in case they tried something," he remarked putting on the terrycloth robe before handing one over to Peter as he got out of the water. "If they're teaming up then maybe we should as well, then again I know you don't play well with others from my experience…well except for that Adler guy, he somehow managed to wrangle you in and keep you on a short leash," Peter remarked. Neal froze for a moment at the mention of Adler.

_Does he know…How? I haven't said enough or left him alone long enough… could he maybe know something or is he just talking about him in general…_ Neal worried as he looked at Peter knowing he had to lie fast and make it good to divert Peter's thoughts. "It's not just him, you found a way to keep me compliant," Neal said with a smirk as he put his arms around Peter's neck and gave him a small kiss. Pulling away he wrinkled his nose a bit. "We should shower we stink like chlorine…if you don't want to waste water we could share a shower and have some privacy," Neal suggested with a smirk. Peter ignored the comment as he walked out of the pool room and through the library to the main downstairs hallway.

Letting out a sigh of relief that Peter hadn't pushed his reaction earlier, Neal followed behind him and sighed many times. "Well if you're not going to join me then I'll just go shower alone, but I will see you after that and maybe you're right we should team up," Neal remarked as he walked past Peter and ran up the stairs to the second floor.

* * *

Dante looked at his cousin. "What if they make it without anyone seeing them?" he asked as he tore his eyes away from Nicolai smirking and from the movie they were watching. "Don't worry about it I took care of it, but first you should know we might end up being on the end of a lot of revenge in the next couple days," Nicolai said as he turned back to the movie.

Neal walked into his room and walked into his bathroom he walked over to the shower and turned the water on and stripped out of his robe before he got under the water, as he washed he began to sing a few bars of a song. When he opened his eyes he noticed something in the mirror, jumping out of the shower he wiped the condensation off the when he saw his reflection he let out the loudest yell ever. "Nick!" Neal screeched as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before he ran down to where he left Peter.

Peter looked over at Neal and covered his mouth to keep from laughing as he looked at the younger man; his skin a deep violet-blue color. "What happened to you?" Peter managed to get out without laughing. Neal was fuming as stood there "I'm purple Peter…I don't know what I'm going to do but when I figure it out it's going to be serious payback," Neal said as he puts his arms around his chest to keep himself warm. Peter walked over and put his arms around Neal "I think you look very cute and I promise we'll get you back to your normal color," Peter said with a small chuckle as he tried to calm his lover down.

"I don't want to be comforted Peter I'm purple…I don't know how long I'm going to be purple," Neal said softly as he pulled away and looked down at his chest. "How am I going get this color off me?" Neal asked with a whimper. "I'm going to my room…and I'm not coming down until I stop looking like a grape," he added as he walked back down the hall, as he entered the front hall the front door opened and his parents and Elizabeth walked in. Everyone looked at Neal, Victor cleared his throat "Neal… is there a reason you look like gay smurf?" Victor asked as he started to laugh at his son.

Natasha elbowed her husband in the ribs "That's not funny Vic; Neal I am putting my foot down on this silly prank war, Thanksgiving is in two days and your father's family is coming tomorrow and I don't want this house destroyed like it was when you were kids… there will be no more pranks is that understood," she said in an authoritative tone. Neal nodded as he ran up the stairs to his room. _This means revenge now… I don't care what mom says they will be suffering my revenge._ Neal thought as he crawled into bed and tossed his towel out on to the floor.

Walking to the main entrance way Peter waved his hand "Don't even ask… I have a feeling that my shower has been tampered with and your eldest son has something to do with all of this. I'm going to go check on Neal…" Peter said as he slowly walked up the stairs and knocked on Neal's door. When he got permission to enter he walked in and found Neal sitting in the middle of his bed his covers pulled up around him so his even his face was barely visible.

"You look like a jelly doughnut," Peter said with a small chuckle as he slowly uncovered Neal's face. Neal pouted as he looked at Peter "That's not funny…and I don't plan on coming out from this room until I'm normal again no matter what you say or do," he remarked pulling the blankets back around him. Peter grabbed the blankets and pulled them back down so he could see his lover again. Peter sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Neal close to him to comfort him. "Now I know you want to have revenge but I also heard your mother she said no more pranks," Peter said as he let Neal crawl onto his lap.

"At least I have an excuse for being in here for a long time, but what's your excuse?" Neal asked as he looked into Peter's eyes trying to get over the fact he was purple. "My excuse is I'm checking on you to make sure you aren't planning something crazy for revenge, if it means keeping you pinned to this bed until dinner then I will do it," Peter said grabbed Neal by the wrist and held him on his lap. "Peter I have to get them back for what they did, something that will make them realize they can't mess with me," Neal argued as he tried to stand up again and failed as he was pulled back down.

Peter shook his head "You are not going to get into trouble for a stupid prank just to get revenge on them," he said trying to convince the ex con to change his mind. Neal pretended to ponder the offer as he pushed away from Peter his towel hanging dangerously low. "Alright I promise I won't do anything…too serious…" Neal whispered as he walked to the head of the bed and laid out on it his arms spread out over the pillows with a smirk on his lips as he gave Peter the double finger point to come closer. "Earlier I postponed our alone time because I was hungry and now that I've decided to isolate myself from my family until I'm no longer purple we can spend as much time as we want together. Now get over here," Neal ordered taking control.

Raising an eyebrow at Neal's actions Peter shrugged and moved closer as leaned against the same pillows as Neal before pulling him close and pulling him into a kiss. _Am I really going to risk losing this to find out a little information on Kate's death…? Yes…yes I am…I'll just have to plan a way to not get caught._ Neal thought as he pulled away noticing that the white robe Peter was wearing had purple on it. "It looks like I'm sweating off the color… I guess we found a way to turn me back to normal," Neal said with a smirk as he moved closer and kissed down Peter's jaw.

* * *

Peter grabbed Neal by his hair and pulled him into a deep kiss, after a moment Neal pulled away for air, fine trails of purple trailed down his face. "Don't you think I should lock the door to keep from anyone walking in on us?" he asked as he tried to catch his breath. Peter shook his head "leave it unlocked, they will knock," Peter said hoping he was right. Neal smirked as he leaned over to the nightstand by his bed when he heard his phone go off. "Get back here and let it go to voicemail," Peter said not wanting to share Neal with a phone call.

Neal grabbed his phone and sent the call to voicemail. "You're pretty demanding Agent Burke, but I'll let you get away with ordering me around just this once," Neal said with a smirk as he moved back to his position straddling Peter's lap and locked lips with the FBI agent below him, when they broke again Neal huffed. "You have to do better than this to get me to sweat this color off of me so I don't look like a Muppet anymore," Neal said as he tried to get his way again. He knew exactly what to say and what to do to get what he wants from Peter. "I take it you like it when I take control, I should take control more often," Peter said in an all knowing tone.

"I do like it when you take control Peter; you should do it at the office more…and on the stakeouts, only if we're in your car alone… I wouldn't dare do anything in the van unless you like having an audience," Neal said laughing a bit. "You're the one that likes the audience, now shut up Neal before I start spanking you," Peter said as he grabbed Neal by his arm and pulled him closer into another breathtaking lip lock. Neal used his artistic hands to remove the offending purple stained terrycloth robe. When he saw Peter raising a hand to help Neal slapped it hard with a resounds crack "Nu…uh let me do all the work, this is as much your vacation as it is mine," Neal said as he got back to work.

* * *

Neal cracked his eyes open when he was sure that Peter was asleep. _It took three rounds of sex to knock him out; it would have been easier to slip him some sleeping pills…well at least I'm not purple anymore._ Neal thought as he slipped out of bed and went to his bags and found some fresh clothes before going into the bathroom to clean up; then he left the room like a fox leaving the hen house. When he was free in the hall Neal walked to the first floor and found his way to the sitting room where he heard voices coming within. Neal slipped into the room and found Dante and Nicolas talking and laughing.

As walked around the couch he saw them drinking beer and talking about how Nick had turned his baby brother purple. "I see you two are enjoying your victory Nick …do you two care if I join you for a beer?" Neal asked as he sat down in the semi dark room. Nick looked up and smirked "It looks like you managed to get yourself almost back to normal, so yeah you can join us and I wanted to say that if you plan on taking any kind of revenge on us just remember what mom said earlier," Nick said as he put his empty beer bottle down.

"Oh I know I just came down here to say that you are brilliant and I want to have a beer with you guys; in fact I'll go get you guys a fresh beer," Neal said as he got up from his seat and walked into the kitchen and rummaged around the fridge for three beers, and when he had a good grip on them he opened the bottles and put them on the counter. _Now I get my revenge…and since I know that Dante is innocent he'll just wake up feeling hung over…Dr. Parker did say these pills would knock me out if I mixed them with alcohol._ Neal thought as he pulled his bottle of anxiety pills out of his pocket and dropped a couple pills into two of the beers. When he was sure they had begun to dissolve he walked back into the sitting room. "Sorry had to find the bottle opener," Neal lied as he handed the beers over and put his own down on the table.

Dante looked at his younger cousin cautiously for a moment before taking the beer on the table and chugging it down. Nick waited a moment until he was sure nothing happened before picking up his own beer and downing it. Neal wrapped his lips around the mouth of the bottle before taking a deep chug and then waiting patiently for the drugs to take effect. Neal quirked his eyebrow when he saw the other two men starting to drift off as their empty beer bottles dropped from their hands.

Standing up slowly Neal grabbed the scissors he hid in the potted plant by the hallway door. "What goes around comes around Nick," Neal whispered as he slowly began to slice his brother's hair off until it was only an inch high. He then grabbed the razor he also brought and slowly worked on shaving the hair down until there was nothing left but peach fuzz. When he was done Neal smirked and dumped the tools he used into the potted plant by the door as he snuck out into the hall and made his way to the French doors that led to the patio.

_I'm a dead man so I better find a good hiding place,_ Neal thought as he ran through the maze until he came out on the other side. Looking around he decided to run into the woods. After a ten minute walk he reached the edge of the property. _I survived three days on Colin's island I think I can last a few days out here until Nick has cooled down…even though now that I think about it, it could take a couple months to the rest of our lives,_ Neal thought as he ducked under the low hanging branches of the trees that lined the edge of the property.

* * *

Peter woke the next morning in Neal's bed to yelling that seemed to be growing louder; soon the bedroom door was kicked open with a loud bang. Sitting up in bed the agent looked at the figure in the doorway. "Where the fuck is he?" Nick growled as he stomped closer to Neal's bed. "Wait…Neal…" Peter stopped himself when he saw Nick's hair had been shaved down to peach fuzz. "Yeah, he went and got his stupid revenge and when I get a hold of him I'm not going to spank him I'm going to paint him black and blue all over…" Nick yelled as he walked over to the closet and ripped the doors open and looked around. When he couldn't find his brother he grabbed a shirt of Neal's.

"Puka…Dimitri!" Nicolas called as his two dogs ran into the room. "Sniff and hunt," he ordered as his dog came over to get the scent. After a second the two Dobermans were barking as they ran through the house their master close behind them. Peter collected himself as he searched the area around the bed for his discarded robe._ Neal what the hell did you do? Now your brother's on the war path,_ Peter thought as he located his robe and threw it on. Running out of the room he went into his guest room and found a change of clothes, as soon as he was dressed he grabbed his cell phone and followed the rampaging brother across the property.

Nicolas was beyond furious at that moment; in the far corner of his mind he was already creating a false alibi to tell the police after he killed Neal. Even though he knew he could never go through with it he still found it pretty comforting to think of such things as he followed his dogs to the edge of well kept lawn that fell away to the wilds of nature in the woods behind the house.

Making sure to keep Nick in sight Peter pulled out his phone and called Jones "I'm sorry for calling so early, but can you just pull up Neal's tracking information and direct me toward him. I sort of need to find him before his brother does, it's a long story that I'll tell you when I get back to work on Monday so which way do I go now?" Peter asked as he entered the woods. Looking around the vast area Peter began following the directions over the phone. "You should be right on top of him right now…" Jones said looking at the map on his computer screen. Taking a wild guess Peter looked up into the trees as found what he was looking for. "Thanks Jones, have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow I'll see you Monday," Peter said before hanging up as he kept his eyes locked with Neal's.

"You know maybe I should call the fire department since there seems to be a kitten stuck in a tree, and he looks terrified," Peter remarked with a smirk as he reached up and helped Neal down and put his arms around the semi frozen ex con. "Why did you go out here without a coat on, are you trying to make yourself sick?" Peter asked as he removed his coat and put it around the shaking ex con. Neal shoved his arms into the sleeves of the coat and hid in Peter's arms. "You're a real comedian Peter, but you have to help me… Nick is going to go nuclear on me when he finds me you have to hide me and keep me safe," Neal said as he nuzzled against Peter's shoulder to keep from being seen.

Soon the two large Dobermans ran over and began to snarl and approach Neal, and after a moment Nick came from behind a tree and looked at his younger brother who had taken refuge behind Peter when the agent turned to face him. "Now before you beat your brother into a bloody pulp, at least let him apologize first and if you're still raw then you can beat him up because he does deserve it," Peter said as he tried to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. "He cut my hair after he drugged me… there is going to be more than jus than bloody lip this time," Nick said as he moved in closer.

Neal peeked around Peter's shoulder and looked at his brother "I'm sorry for cutting your hair off but you turned me purple, so now we're even…" Neal said trying to sound brave. Nick looked down for a moment and called his dogs off just as they were about to sink their teeth into Neal's legs. "You're not off the hook yet, you just wait until mom finds out what you did to me; you know she said she didn't want any more pranks." Nick said as he ran his hand over his shorter hairdo.

* * *

Peter stood between the two brothers as he led them back through the woods and onto the Caffrey property. When they made their way into the house Neal kept hidden behind Peter as they entered the kitchen where the family had gathered for breakfast. Natasha nearly dropped the plate she was carrying to the table. "Nick…what happened to your… hair…Neal Tobias Caffrey did you do this after I told you not to seek out any revenge?" Natasha asked as she saw her youngest son cowering behind the FBI agent he brought with him to the family home. Neal backed away until he hit the wall behind him. "You know the drill for breaking my rules, go get it and bring it here…" she said pointing toward the laundry room.

Hanging his head Neal passed by the kitchen table and walked into the laundry room before coming back with a large strip of plastic that looked like it belonged on a set of blinds. Peter felt bad for his lover, he knew Neal was in trouble but he had broken the rules and he needed to be punished. "Mom… please, I'm sorry I was mad that Nick was going to get away with it again so I thought he should suffer for once; it's not fair that I got spanked by Peter when the two us got arrested," Neal said as he tried to argue his way out of a spanking.

"When did you two get arrested and start from the top and if you lie to me I will make your punishment much worse," Natasha said as she waited for an explanation. Nick looked at his brother "Don't you dare say a word," Nick threatened as he stared at Neal. "We got into an argument about why he ran away from home and he said I was spoiled and that he was basically jealous of me, then he called me a white collar whore for my relationships, we were arrested by accident because June's maid didn't know we were there. Well to make a long story short Peter paid our bail and I got spanked for the fight and Nick didn't…oh, guess what…" Neal was cut off by a glare from his brother.

Once he was sure his family was caught on his every word Neal smirked. "Turns out Nick lied for years about what he does for a living it turns out that he is an FSB agent for the Russian Federal Security Service," Neal said as he kept himself hidden behind Peter. "Nicolas Gabriel Caffrey, is this true?" Natasha asked looking at her older son as he froze in his spot; he nodded his head knowing that if he lied it would have been worse for him. "Well the both of you are going to be punished," Natasha said as she smiled. "Please excuse us we'll be back soon," she added as she pointed toward the laundry room so her sons would follow her.

* * *

Neal and Nick looked at each other before following their mother into the laundry room; they assumed their positions bent over the washer and dryer. Natasha moved behind her sons and began to spank them hard and swift to get some sense into their thick heads. The rest of the family plus Elizabeth and Peter ate breakfast in silence, the only sounds were the occasional sound of someone getting spanked and a small cry of pain, when the laundry room door finally opened again everyone looked up at the brothers and looked away as they rubbed their buttocks before they sat down.

Peter chuckled as he saw Neal pouting "You got what you deserved Neal, you knew the rules and now Nick got his comeuppance for the missed spanking from me so now this prank war is officially over, right?" Peter asked as he looked at the younger man. "Yes sir…" Neal mumbled as he grabbed a slice of toast from the plate in the middle of the table.

With their backsides on fire Nick and Neal looked at each other before looking away in anger. Peter smiled when Neal looked at him, he felt bad that Neal had been spanked so badly. Both brothers squirmed at the same moment when their mother sat at the table. Neal shifted in his seat a bit as he sipped his coffee.

As breakfast concluded an hour later Natasha stood up. "Now since tomorrow is Thanksgiving this house is going to be cleaned so I want everyone to get out of the house for the day so the staff can clean and I don't care what you do just as long as you don't get arrested and try and keep the humility to a minimum, that goes double for you four," she said looking and Dante, Nicolas, Neal and Peter. Soon everyone had come up with their plans for the day and had split off to enjoy their free day.

Hanging onto Peter's arm like it was a life raft Neal dragged him up to his room and stayed close. "So how mad are you that I did that to my brother?" Neal asked as he closed his bedroom door. "I thought it was genius the way you did it but if you ever even think of doing it to me I'll throw you back in prison so fast your head will be spinning for a month," Peter remarked as he sat on the end of the bed. Neal nodded "I'll get dressed but then can we go out into the garden and just lay around I'm too sore to do anything else right now, maybe you'll be kind enough to give me a back rub because your favorite kitten is hurt," Neal said with a pout.

"I don't think so; you need to remember what you did has consequences, especially when you were told not to pull anymore pranks and I think getting revenge falls under that category as well. Now about your using sex as a ploy to put me to sleep it was ingenious but next time, tell me your plans so I can talk you out of them. Unless you like getting spanked," Peter commented as he put a put a comforting hand on Neal's head and gave him a small pat. Giving a small huff Neal got up and kneeled on his bed so his buttocks wouldn't touch anything. "Get dressed we'll go find something to do, I'm going to just see how Elizabeth is and what she plans to do for the day," Peter said as he left Neal on his bed.

* * *

Waiting until he was sure Peter was gone Neal grabbed his phone off the nightstand and made his way into the bathroom to be alone, and as soon as the door clicked shut he started to scroll through his contacts until he found the phone number Adler had given him. Neal looked at himself in the mirror for a moment before selecting the number and hitting send. While the other line began to ring Neal closed his eyes as he went over what he planned to say. After the third ring the other line picked up.

"Good Morning Neal, I had a feeling you would be calling me so what have you decided?" Adler asked over the phone. Neal bit his lip as he opened his eyes and looked down at the tracking anklet locked tightly on his leg. "I'm going to do it on one condition, you tell me what I'm going after now and what obstacles I might meet or I back out now and tell Peter everything," Neal warned as he leaned against the bathroom door.

Vincent was silent for a moment "Well if that's how it's going to be, I assume you have heard of a necklace called the gem of the galaxy, you will be getting the rest of the information the day after tomorrow at seven-thirty p.m. on the docks where we met last time and remember to blend in again. I'll see you then Neal and remember to leave the FBI at the office where they belong," Vincent said before hanging up on Neal.

Not wasting any time Neal scrolled through his contacts to Mozzie's number when the other line picked up Neal bit his tongue to keep from blurting out his deal "Hey Moz I just wanted to see how you were doing and ask you if you knew anything about a necklace called the gem of the galaxy, really… hey Moz how long would it take a person to make say two forgeries of that necklace?" Neal asked hoping his friend wouldn't catch on too quickly.

"A skilled forger it would probably take two… three days at the most, why? Neal what are you planning on doing?" Mozzie asked in a curious tone. Neal shifted his weight a bit "I'll explain later; but Moz can you get me the materials I'll need to make two of the necklaces and get a little extra incase I make a mistake," Neal joked before he hung up. Neal walked back into his room and quickly got dressed and shoved his phone into his pocket before he ran out of his room and right into Peter.

Peter looked at the ex con with a smile "El and I are going to take a walk around the property and look at the gardens, so you have to fend for yourself for a while; you can keep out of trouble right?" Peter asked with a smirk. Neal smiled "Of course I can stay out of trouble, you don't have to worry about me at all Peter, and you have some fun walking around," Neal said as he ducked back into his room and came back out with a sketch pad and a small box of pens. "I'm going to go hide out in the maze for a while since Nick went to the store with Catherine so I'm pretty safe from his revenge," Neal said before he walked off whistling a bit.

* * *

Elizabeth walked out of the guest room and looked at Peter. "Is something wrong hon?" she asked looking at his face trying to figure out what was bothering her husband. "It's Neal… he's been acting odd, the other day with the fake sickness and I don't like to jump to any conclusions about him and I know you'll say that I can't judge him like this but I swear he's up to something, he actually asked me what I would do in a hypothetical situation of stealing something for information. I'm worried he has something planned that's going to land him in hot water," Peter said as he walked down the hall with Elizabeth and down the stairs to the front hall.

"Honey you chased Neal for four years you know everything about him and you need to trust your own instincts if you think Neal is up to something then watch his tracking data until your sure. I'm positive Neal wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his relationship with you; I can see it every time he looks at you. Now let's forget about Neal this is our alone time remember," Elizabeth added as she pulled her husband out of the house and around the well kept lawn.

Peter smiled "Your right, Neal isn't that stupid to do something to get sent back, now I think these gardens are amazing and this reminds me of the place where we got married. It was so perfect that day, you know I'm actually glad that Neal wasn't a problem then because I never would have wanted to miss that day," Peter remarked as they walked hand in hand around the vast yard. "I have to say Peter this has to be the most interesting vacation we have ever taken, this is a great way to relax before the winter holidays when I have so much work to do," Elizabeth said as she looked around at the sprawling gardens all around them.

Nodding in agreement Peter couldn't help but let his thoughts drift back to Neal and what he was doing to stay out of trouble. As they walked through the gardens Elizabeth decided they should walk in the maze and when they got to the center they both smiled at the scene in front of them, Neal was asleep under the small tree in the center of the shrub maze with Satchmo, Dimitri and Puka around him for protection. Elizabeth pulled her camera out and snapped a few pictures before putting the camera away.

"How can someone look so innocent?" Elizabeth asked with a smile. Peter smirked "Neal is never innocent," he replied as he watched Neal roll over and let a sigh escape his lips. Taking her camera back out Elizabeth took another photo of the younger man. Peter sat down by his lover and lay back on the grass and looked at Neal and gave a small blow of air across his face. Neal slowly opened his eyes and looked at Peter and smiled at him. Both men were so lost looking at each other they didn't hear the beep of Elizabeth's camera. "I'll leave you two alone, just remember to come in before you get sunburned," Elizabeth said with a smile. Neal tore his gaze away from Peter, "No you stay, I'll go… I've kept Peter away from you enough over the years, you two should get some alone time," Neal said as he sat up. "Besides I have to make a phone call, I'll see you guys later tonight," Neal said as he walked around the first bend of the maze.

When he was sure he was alone Neal pulled his phone out and called Mozzie again "Moz have you managed to pull the items I need together?" Neal asked keeping his voice down incase Peter had followed him. "I got what you wanted but before I help you anymore Neal you need to tell me what you're getting yourself into so I can tell you how crazy you are," Mozzie said as he looked at the items Neal had requested earlier.

Neal slowly made his way to the end of the maze before speaking again. "Vincent got a hold of me and requested I help steal something. I said no at first but then he told me he could tell me who really killed Kate… I know what you're going to say Moz but I have to know the truth," Neal said more than asked. "Moz please don't say anything to anyone, especially Peter; he'll skin me alive for doing this. He just doesn't understand," he added as he ran his hand over the edge of the shrub maze. As he turned around to walk the same path again Neal jumped when he came face to face with Peter. "I'll call you back later," Neal said as he hung up, his stomach dropped when he wondered how much of the conversation had been overheard.

"You forgot your sketch pad and pens, I thought you might want them back," Peter said holding the items up for Neal to take, and he watched the younger man put his phone in his back pocket before taking his pens and sketchpad. "Thanks, I'm going to head in and hide in the library for a while, I hope Elizabeth enjoys the walk around the garden," Neal said as he started to walk away. Peter walked up behind Neal and grabbed him by the arm and spun him around into his arms. Neal felt his cheeks heat up when he felt Peter's hands roam over his backside. "Peter… you're never this frisky…" Neal said in a surprised tone as he enjoyed the feeling of Peter being more open with his feelings. "Later… when we're alone…"Neal added as he pulled away and began to walk toward the back door that led to the pool room.

Peter looked down at the phone he had pulled from Neal's back pocket. _Neal is up to something,_ Peter thought as he began to scroll through Neal's call log for any numbers he didn't know. Pulling his own phone out of his pocket Peter called Jones "I need you to run a few phone numbers for me," Peter said before reading the numbers off the phone screen. "I'll run these numbers and I'll call you back when I have a name for these," Jones said before hanging up. Peter looked at the phone he had stolen as he pocketed his own phone as he then walked back to his wife. "He's jumpy about something, I walked up to him and he jumped when he saw me. Whoever he was talking to on the phone he commented that I would skin him alive if I found out what he was doing. I don't like this El; if I confront him it could make it worse," Peter said as he sat on the edge of one of the lounge chairs.

"Honey, you love him and you're worried that he's about to do something stupid…but I'm sure you're just taking things the wrong way, Neal has changed. This mysterious call could have been for something totally legal, now you can trust Neal or you can be suspicious and go question him for hours or you can stay here with me for a while," she said sitting beside Peter. "How long do you think it will take before he realizes his phone is missing?" Peter asked as he looked at Neal's phone in his hand.

"Oh if he's doing something like you think he is then he'll come looking for it soon," Elizabeth remarked as she took the phone out of Peter's hand and looked it over. "I just hope you're ready for the backlash it will bring that will happen," she added.

* * *

Neal slipped into the library and up to the second floor and as he moved over to the large window he sat in the chair and opened his sketchbook. He then looked at the sketch of the gem of the galaxy, _I can make a perfect forgery and once I get the information I'll give the real necklace back hopefully before the case falls on Peter's desk, _Neal thought as he shoved his hand behind him and found his phone missing from his back pocket. Dropping his pad on the floor Neal jumped up and ran down the stairs and out the back door.

_I can't act too freaked if Peter seems me acting like this he'll get suspicious…then again why would he put his hands all over me before… he stole my phone,_ Neal thought as he stormed down the lawn and ducked into the maze and made his way to the center of the maze, and as he turned the last corner he saw Elizabeth and Peter with his phone in Elizabeth's hands.

"I had a feeling that Peter stole it, why else would he play grab ass with me?" Neal asked as he stormed over and grabbed his phone back and looked at his lover. "I have a right to privacy you know… Muffin, so quit snooping," Neal hissed. "What right to privacy? You're on a work release program. The FBI still owns you and if I suspect you to be doing something illegal I have every right to snoop as you put it… Kitten," Peter bit back as he made a grab for the phone.

Elizabeth stood up and put her hands on both men's chests and kept them from getting any closer to each other. "Now both of you calm down, Peter… you had no right to take Neal's phone and Neal you know that we both love you and if you don't want to be questioned you shouldn't do anything illegal," Elizabeth said trying to calm them down.

"I didn't ask you to butt in Elizabeth, in fact I didn't ask either of you to, now just drop it," Neal snipped as he pulled away and stormed off like a child. Peter rolled his eyes at the younger man's reaction. "Let him calm down before you go talk to him…then go talk to him but I have a feeling he's going to ignore you for a few hours," Elizabeth said as she sat back down on the lawn chair.

Before Peter could respond his phone rang and he quickly answered it in hopes Jones had some answers for him." Tell me some good news Jones," Peter said as he walked around the small fountain. "Neal made two calls today, one to a Dante Haversham and the other to a blocked number. Hughes ordered me to track every location the blocked number has been to, the blocked number has been at Neal's apartment and later that night a dock not far from Neal's… which brings me to this news… Neal's tracking anklet was at the docks at the same time as the mysterious phone number; before both headed back to June's," Jones said looking at the tracking data on his computer.

"Jones I want to know who owns that phone and I want to know as soon as possible. I also want you to look into anything that looks like something Neal would steal. I know it's a long list, so cut it down by looking into Neal's tastes and call me when you and Diana have a list. We could be racing a clock and we might not have much time left," Peter said before hanging up. _Neal, what the hell are you up to?_ Peter thought to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**(here is chapter eight, you all know the drill its review time for a wonderful story and just so everyone knows there is one more chapter left but like the harry potter movies this story is in two parts hehe I hope you enjoy the last two chapters)  
Chapter 8: Playing Into the Devil's Hand**

Neal fumed as he paced over the pool; the large ornate cover of the globe clicked under his feet as he gripped his phone tight in his hand. _It will take at least two weeks to make the necklaces maybe a little longer; Adler said he'll be giving me the other information I'll need to get into the house. If Peter had my phone it's a good chance he looked at the call log and started his own little investigation… that means I've got to be more careful and act normal… if I start to avoid Peter he'll get even more suspicious._ Neal thought as he paced. On his third pass he stopped and noticed his brother standing in the doorway watching him.

"What's got your panties in a knot? I haven't seen you this agitated since we were kids," Nick remarked with a chuckle as he walked over to his brother and gave him a pat on his head. Neal backed away and sat on one of the wicker chairs and sighed. Nick smirked and watched his brother "Come on shrimp out with it before I hold you down and force you to tell me," he warned with a charming smile almost as good as Neal's. Watching his brother closely Neal looked around for any signs of his FBI handler or his wife. "Fine, it's none of your damn business and I don't trust you to tell you what I may or may not be up to," Neal commented as he stood up.

"I just want everyone to drop it…Peter's on my case, you are, and Mozzie. I just want to be left alone about this… I know it's crazy and stupid and it might land me back in prison but you know what Nick, I don't care I just don't care anymore as long as I get what I want," Neal remarked as he stood up and stormed out of the pool room and through the library. As he walked down the hall Neal doubled back when he saw Nick's car keys sitting on the counter. Smirking at the sight of the keys Neal glanced around and saw that the room was empty. "Too easy," he whispered as he swiped the keys and passed through the kitchen and across the back all and into the garage. Neal opened the door to the garage and looked at Nick's sports car that he had imported there from Russia. Using the garage door opener Neal climbed into the sleek black sports car and started it up before tearing out of the garage and down the long driveway.

Turning towards town Neal smirked as he drove down the roads and revved the engine. _I have to keep this car in perfect condition or Nick will really skin me alive since this is his baby and it means more to him than his own girlfriend and family._ Neal thought as he pulled up to a stop sign and gave a sigh of relief as he felt all his agitation worry and anger at Peter melt away as he pulled away from the stop sign and make his way closer to town.

Driving into town Neal felt the rush and excitement of stealing a car run up his spine and let out a shudder of pleasure as he accelerated the sports car down the road toward town. As he arrived into town Neal pulled into a shopping plaza and parked in an open space before getting out and locking the door behind him. As he walked through the parking lot Neal entered a seedy looking pawn shop tucked away in the corner of the plaza. "As I live and breathe…" the old man behind the counter said as he moved out to where Neal was standing.

"Hey Dad I…finished putting the jewelry away in the safe," a younger man said ignoring Neal all together as he turned and walked into the backroom and slammed the door behind him. Neal winced at the sound and turned to the older man. "He's still mad about that isn't he?" Neal asked in a soft voice. "I'll give you two some time to talk I have to run to the store for some lunch," the man said as he left the pawn shop with the door jingling as it slammed shut. Walking to the back room Neal knocked and opened the door and gave a small smile. "Hey Gabe…I came here to apologize…"Neal said softly. "Too little too late Neal, now get lost I don't want to speak to you ever again, why don't you just go…it's what your good at," Gabe said as he sat down on one of the stools and leaned over the desk and picked up his jeweler's loop to look at the rings on the tray.

Neal leaned against the door and watched Gabe as he worked "You still do good work, I'm glad you kept up with your skills," Neal complemented as he tried to get the other man to look at him. Gabe looked over at Neal and melted at Neal's charm. "You're still the same charmer I fell for in high school," Gabe remarked as he put his loop down and leaned against the desk and looked Neal over once "So what do you want from me?" he asked as he stood up the faded band tee shirt just barely leaving anything to the imagination. "I came to apologize is all since I'm finally in town after being in jail for a while. I'm really sorry I didn't get in touch after I left home," Neal apologized.

Crossing his arms over his chest Gabe tapped his foot waiting for Neal to tell him the truth "okay… you caught me I need two, three foot long white pearl necklaces that look like they could pass for pearls on a fifty thousand dollar necklace. I know you and your father deal it hot jewelry. I'll give you anything you want as payment," Neal offered in hopes that he could get the pearls he needed. "All I want is the goodbye kiss you never gave me, if I don't like it you don't get anything," Gabe said watching Neal like a hawk. "One kiss and that's it, okay then this is the kiss you should have gotten," Neal said as he grabbed Gabe and pulled him into a deep kiss to apologize for all the pain he caused.

Neither one of them heard the bells on the front door jingling and not wanting to let Neal get away Gabe shoved Neal against the wall and pushed himself against the ex con and attacked his lips. Struggling to pull away Neal finally got a breath of fresh air as the back room door opened revealing two police officers. One of the officers was an older gentleman in his forties. "Hey Uncle Jacob…what are you doing here?" Neal asked watching the exit out of the corner of his eye.

"Your brother called the police and said you stole his car, so turn around and put your hands on the wall," Jacob said as he turned his nephew around and began the process of handcuffing him. "You're being arrested for grand theft auto, so get moving…" Jacob said as he dragged Neal out of the backroom and through the shop and out to his police cruiser.

* * *

After a short drive Neal found himself handcuffed to a bench in the police station while his uncle went to make a call. Looking up and down the hall Neal wiggled the handcuffs until he felt them start to become loose. "Trying to escape already? Peter asked as he walked up to his cuffed lover. "It's not what you think Peter…I just borrowed his car without asking and Nick treats that thing like it's his baby and no one but him is allowed to drive it," Neal commented as he wiggled his cuffed hand a bit. "Can you get me released Peter?" Neal asked with his best puppy dog eyes.

"I think I'll leave you here for a while, if I keep bailing you out then you'll assume I'll always bail you out. So if you tell me why you took you're brother's car I'll think about getting you free," Peter said as looked at the younger man. Neal looked around for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I went to a pawn shop where my ex from high school works with his father, remember I told you that I left high school before I graduated… well I originally made plans to run away and travel the world with Gabe but things happened and I left without him and I didn't even say goodbye to him so I gave him the goodbye he deserved," Neal remarked as he pulled on the handcuff that kept him attached to the bench.

Peter quirked his eyebrow at the goodbye comment "What kind of goodbye did you give him?" Peter asked very curious to know how Neal did goodbyes. "I apologized, and I gave him the goodbye kiss he deserved to get from me when I left," Neal remarked as he filled Peter in on why he took his brother's car. Looking Neal over for a moment Peter waved the cop over that had shown him where Neal was. "Officer I want him released," Peter said as he flashed his FBI badge to the younger man. Neal smirked as the officer unlocked the handcuff around his wrist.

Standing up quickly Neal chuckled as he walked to the elevator with Peter. "Quick question, how did you know where to find me?" Neal asked as the elevator doors opened. "I followed your anklet or did you forget you were wearing it?" Peter asked as he waited for Neal to get into the elevator. Neal smiled as he stepped into the elevator and leaned against the railing. "It's nice to be a semi-free man again, I guess we better get Nick's car out of impound before heading home," Neal remarked as he tapped his fingers against the faux wood panels of the elevator car.

"Nick already took care of that he drove over with me in your father's car and he left with his car, now I hate to admit it but I don't drive well with stick so I'll let you drive back home just this one time," Peter said as he handed the key to Victor's Lamborghini Gallardo to Neal. Smiling like a kid in a candy store Neal walked quickly over to the rich forest green car and opened the driver's side door and climbed in. Neal practically purred when he got comfortable in the driver's seat. Peter climbed in and seat belted himself into the bucket seat and gave a silent prayer as Neal started up the flashy car and took off.

* * *

The sports car roared like a lion as Neal drove it through town and turned heads as he shot through a yellow light and up the street toward his family home when they came to the turn Neal went left and drove down the road with the car's speed increasing slightly. Neal glanced at Peter as he drove "I want to apologize for how I acted before with talking back at Elizabeth and storming off like a kid…I'm going to make it up to you right now," Neal remarked as they left town and headed down a few back roads until they were by a small lake and hidden by large trees. Turning the engine off Neal smirked as he looked at Peter before pulling him into an apologetic kiss.

In the back of Peter's mind he realized that not even an hour ago that those lips were kissing someone else and he knew he had to remind Neal just who he was allowed to kiss. Snaking his hand around Neal's neck he grabbed the younger man by the scruff of his neck and pulled his head back to reveal his swollen lips and slightly blush tinted cheeks.

"Now before I let you apologize I have to remind you that you are not allowed to kiss anyone but me…is that understood?" Peter questioned as he held Neal and watched him smirk "Oh yes I understand…Agent Burke…I also understand I broke the law and you have every right to punish me," Neal purred as he managed to pull free and latch onto Peter in another kiss. Pulling away Peter shrugged "I think I might let this one slide, but if you ever tell anyone I let you get away with this it won't end well for your backside. Now let's get back…I don't think your father will appreciate his car getting dirty," Peter remarked as he let Neal go.

As they sat looking at each other a large pine cone fell from the tree above and struck the hood of the car making Neal let out the highest pitched scream Peter had ever heard come from Neal. Unable to control himself he gave up any thought of covering his mouth as he laughed at his lover's reaction and finally bit his lip to try and stifle some of the laughter. Neal gave him a not so playful punch in the arm as he looked at him "That's not funny, and I wouldn't have screamed like that if I hadn't been caught off guard," Neal argued as he tried to protect what was left of his dignity. Peter finally stifled his amusement as he rubbed his arm where Neal punched him. "How about you get those keys and we go home before the evil pine cones come back again," Peter remarked as he started to laugh again.

Neal got out of the car and grabbed the keys as he climbed back into the car and started it up before driving back down the dirt road and toward his family home. When they arrived Peter looked at Neal and saw him still look upset that he had been laughed at. In the back of his mind Peter knew Neal hated being laughed at after the time Diana and Jones had laughed at him when the copy machine's toner cartridge had blown up all over him and got his tee shirt and jeans stained blue after an undercover job after which Neal had locked himself in the bathroom for the afternoon forcing everyone to use the bathroom on other floors. "I'm sorry for laughing at you kitten, but you come on you have to admit it was funny…" Peter argued in his defense.

Victor walked out into the garage and looked at his son in the driver's seat of his car "Don't even think of getting out… I want you to back it out of the garage then wash and put two coats of wax on it and you should hurry up the sun will be going down in a four hours," Victor said before heading back inside. Neal grumbled as he put the car in reverse and brought it outside to wash it, rolling the window up he shut the car down and looked at Peter. "You should go inside so I can finish this up quickly," Neal said with a smile as he got out of the car and got the bucket, sponge and hose ready.

Peter walked over to the low brick wall and sat down and watched as Neal filled the bucket with soap and water before dunking he sponge in the warm water. "Don't forget to wash the wheel wells also since they are full of mud," Peter called from where he was sitting.

* * *

Two hours later Neal finished washing and waxing the car and by that time his arms were killing him as he put the luxury car back in the garage and made his way inside to join the rest of his family for dinner. Sitting in his seat Neal served himself as he listened in on the different conversations going on between his family and his father's side of the family that had arrived while he was putting the second coat of wax on his father's car. "Your car is back in the garage and the keys are on the kitchen table," Neal said when he managed to get a word in edge wise with his father.

Victor nodded "I hope you learned your lesson, you don't drive a car like that through the mud; you could have damaged it," he said as he grabbed his glass of wine. Rolling his eyes a bit Neal ate his dinner in silence his arms throbbed from the two coats of wax he had put on and buffed off the car. Peter watched Neal and smiled that his lover had learned his lesson by doing hard work. "Maybe you'll wax my car the next time you break the rules, it seems to do you some good," Peter remarked only to get a glare in response.

When dinner finished and the table cleared the jet lagged family members retreated to their rooms to get some rest for the next day. Neal made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine and a wine glass as he made his way into the sitting room where there was a small fire going. "Can I join you?" Peter asked holding up another empty wine glass. Nodding slightly Neal opened the wine bottle and poured out two glasses before re corking it and putting the bottle on the floor so he could put his feet up on the coffee table.

Peter grabbed his glass and sat beside Neal "I'm just going to ask this once then it's out of my system. What was your real reason for going to see your ex? I don't know anyone who would just randomly go to apologize to their former lover…especially you; you wanted something from him didn't you?" Peter asked as he sipped his wine. Neal smiled and looked at the glass of wine in his hands and thought fast, gulping down he glass of wine he put the glass on the table and turned away from Peter so his left leg was folded across the couch and removed his shirt before he put his chest against the arm rest. "My back hurts will you rub it for me?" Neal asked as he looked over his shoulder.

"I guess you did do a lot of work today," Peter replied as he put his glass down and placed his semi warm hands on Neal's back and began to rub his thumbs in small circles to loosen the pain in Neal's back. Neal let out a moan as he felt his muscles loosen up as he put his head on his arms, Peter smirked as he moved up Neal's back and pressed down a little harder earning another loud moan from the other man as he arched back against Peter's hands.

Enjoying the free massage Neal felt himself get very tired at the relaxing touch, when he was relaxed he fell back and let his head fall hard into Peter's lap, looking up into Peter's eyes Neal smiled. "You're a prince for doing that I feel much better now, thank you very much Peter," Neal mumbled as he started to drift off. Leaning forward Peter grabbed his wine glass and poured himself another glass before he sat back to let his lover sleep. "Good night Neal…sleep tight," he whispered softly as he watched the fire crackle in the fireplace. Neal rolled onto his side and nuzzled against Peter's thigh as he got comfortable and fell into a deeper sleep.

Peter finished his wine and put the glass down before he put his head back and started to drift off as well. As his eyes began to close he looked down and at Neal and ran his fingers through Neal's hair once more as he drifted deeper into sleep. While the fire burned itself out the room grew considerably cooler Neal slowly began to wake up, he groaned softly at cool air and getting to his feet Neal grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him up and using all his strength to drag Peter out of the room and up the stairs. After struggling with Peter's weight Neal pulled the other man into his room and helped him into bed. "Just tell me if you don't want me to remove your clothes," Neal remarked. When he didn't get a response he began to remove Peter's shirt and pants until he was in his boxers. Neal stripped off his own pants and crawled into bed and hugged Peter close as if he were a giant stuffed animal. He fell asleep when he was sure that it was safe.

* * *

Neal woke late the morning to a heavy weight on his chest, opening his eyes he noticed that Peter had rolled over and had pinned him to the bed. "Peter…you have me pinned to the bed…and if you don't get up I'm going to…" Neal dropped his voice when he felt Peter's chest rumble with laughter as he tried to feign sleep a little longer. "You didn't mind earlier when I rolled on top of you," Peter remarked as he started to get up. "Who said I wanted you to leave? I just wanted you to shift so I could keep breathing," Neal whispered as he hugged Peter and gave him a long good morning kiss.

They pulled apart when they heard a knock on the door, Neal managed to slip away and put some pants on before opening the door to reveal Elizabeth. "Is my husband in there? And you have a visitor downstairs some guy named Gabe and he…" Elizabeth was cut off as Neal pushed by and walked quickly down the hall. Peeking into Neal's bedroom she found Peter putting his clothes back on. "Fun night? You two disappeared after dinner last night; did Neal whisk you away again? " She asked with a smile. "No we just had some wine in the living room and I gave him a massage because he was sore then he must have brought me up here at some point because I know we fell asleep downstairs. What did Neal's ex want from him now?" Peter asked very curious at that point.

* * *

Rushing down the stairs in a pair of sweatpants Neal found Gabe carried a large yellow envelope with a large bulge in the bottom of it that held the distinct outline of two pearl necklaces. "You are amazing, thanks for doing this on such short notice and on a holiday also I really owe you big time if you come into the city after all this passes I'll take you out to dinner," Neal offered. Gabe nodded his head. "That sounds like a fair trade now answer me this, who's the old guy watching us from upstairs?"He asked motioning his head toward Peter. "Oh that's Peter he's what Dante has named my FBI squeeze, you met his wife Elizabeth already," Neal remarked as he tried to get Gabe to walk toward the door. Freezing in place as Neal attempted to push him out the door. "You mean to tell me you're sleeping with the guy who arrested you… twice? Does he know what you're up to?" he asked as Neal got his footing and pushed him out the door. "I mean it doesn't take a genius to figure out what you're up to Neal," Gabe added as he was pushed across the threshold of the doorway.

Chuckling uneasily Neal looked for any signs of Peter before speaking. "He doesn't know, and I would like to keep him in the dark so you can avoid going back to prison; by the way how did you figure it out anyway?" Neal asked as he stopped pushing Gabe to his car. "Well like I said it doesn't take a genius, I got suspicious when you said you needed pearls that could pass for ones on a fifty thousand dollar necklace, so I did a little digging and I found the Gem of the galaxy a seven carat rare blue with a purple tint sapphire set on a silver pendant and surrounded by twelve diamonds on a string of pearls. When I was sure that was what you were after I also remembered your M.O. when you steal paintings you like to leave a forgery in its place hence one pearl necklace, the other one I'm at a loss for but I won't ask you to go into details," Gabe said as his pulled his keys from his pocket.

"That Burke seems like a good guy, just think about that when you go after that necklace… he's an FBI agent first and your lover second; he won't hesitate to throw you back in prison. Well I have to be going, I'll see you around Neal, and good luck with this you're going to need it," Gabe remarked as he got into his car and drove off. Neal looked at the envelope in his hand for a moment before he walked back inside and up the stairs where he walked by Peter and barely acknowledged him as he walked into his room and locked the door behind him.

Peter was instantly curious but before he could put his ear to the door he was dragged into the guestroom by Elizabeth under the premise it was time to dress for the day and offer their help to make Thanksgiving dinner. Not wanting to start an argument Peter dressed and went downstairs as he kept an eye out for Neal while he washed and peeled potatoes. There were so many people in the kitchen that no one noticed Neal was missing from dinner preparations.

Neal walked into the kitchen an hour later and moved seamlessly into a job of making the stuffing with his mother, Peter wanted to interrogate Neal until he told him everything but he never got the chance since it seemed Neal had been doing his best to avoid the other man by staying across the kitchen from him and taking the longer cooking jobs that required his full attention. By noon the food that needed to be put in the ovens were stacked in and the cooking process began, with an hour window before the rest of the guests arrived everyone decided to take a break on the patio off of the kitchen.

Grabbing a chair close to Neal, who had taken to sitting alone in the corner, Peter watched him until he finally looked at him. "Can I help you with something?" Neal asked with a smirk as he reclined back a bit in his chair. "Well before everyone else gets here there are some things you should know. You know how my father's side of the family is a bit… lax when it comes to the law, well my mother's side is the complete opposite…in fact they don't know anything about my father's side of the family or what everyone really does for a living . Well except for me, having my face splashed all over the paper for my crimes made me look like the black sheep of the family in their eyes. So don't feel bad for me if they make comments or jokes. We all take it in stride knowing that we're better than them…my grandparents may have owned this house at first but they sold it my mother and father when they wanted a smaller place and my aunt is still sore about that after all these years," Neal remarked as he filled Peter in on the family history.

"So I assume that your mother's side knows nothing about… you know…" Peter was trying to find the right way to ask his question until he saw Neal smirk. "You mean that I'm bi… no they don't know that, my aunts might be more accepting of me as so my uncle but not my grandfather. If he knew he would shave my head and ship me off to the war before he would accept my sexual orientation. Even if they found out the worst that could happen would be that they already think I'm a screw up and deserve to be in prison," Neal remarked as he sighed and got up from his chair at his mother's call.

* * *

Peter followed a few minutes later and entered the dining room to find a new group of people he never met before, Neal pushed his way through the crowd and walked over to Peter. "I guess I should introduce you to everyone, this is my Aunt Rachel her husband Jacob, their kids Jackson and Rosalynn, and over here is my uncle Lee and Aunt Dawn and their triplets Chip, Jennie, Essie. You met my grandpa a couple days ago and this is my grandmother Sarah," Neal said as he introduced everyone. Peter shook hands with everyone before Neal introduced him. "Right everyone this is Peter, I work with him at the FBI, he's my hander and pretty good friend even though he does have a weird taste in food, clothing and hobbies," Neal said with a smile which was only returned by a few of the others.

"Burke, you must have had plans with your own family this holiday, instead of escorting my convict of a grandson here," Tobias remarked as he watched Neal closely as if he was waiting for him to steal from him. Peter resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the family. "I was actually invited by Neal and his family, so I'm fine with being here for the holidays and Neal is actually an ex-con, he's working the rest of his jail sentence off for the FBI as a certified consultant," Peter corrected bluntly not caring that he was talking back.

Neal slipped into the kitchen to avoid being seen as he smiled that his grandfather had finally been stood up to._ Peter was amazing I'll have to remember to thank him later for that; he did something I was never brave enough to do…_ Neal thought as he helped bring out the three bowls of salad and rolls. Peter walked over and helped with one of the bowls, when their fingers brushed against each other Neal smiled. "Thanks…for helping with the bowl," Neal said softly thought he knew Peter understood what he was really thanking him for.

As everyone sat down Neal managed to wrangle the seat between Peter and Elizabeth. "Since Neal wasn't here for the last few years why don't you say grace honey?" Natasha said with a smile. Neal lowered his head and smirked as he gave Peter a sideways glance before he spoke *"Gentile signore, siamo qui riuniti per spezzare il pane e godere di questa festa, mentre siamo costretti a vedere i parenti che non possiamo stare e mangiare il cibo che ci fa grassi," around the table snickers broke out from Victor's side of the family, Natasha looked up at Neal her lips in a thin line. "I think we're going to have someone else try... Nick why don't you show us how it's done... the right way," Natasha grit out.

Nick smirked and looked at his brother *"Cher seigneur, je vous remercie pour cette fête, nous allons prendre, pour une fois que je mange quelque chose que je ne serai pas assis dans la salle de bains le reste de la nuit for, Amen." Nick said with a smirk as his family laughed. Victor looked at his sons, "Okay I think that's enough, now let's start eating," he said smirking as everyone started to eat.

Peter leaned over and looked at Neal, "care to explain what was said for those who don't speak Italian and French?" Peter whispered. Neal smirked "I'll tell you later," Neal whispered as he pushed his salad around his plate with his fork as he stroked the finger of his free hand against Peter's thigh for a moment before pulling away as he ate and acted as if nothing was happening.

* * *

When the salad was over Neal and Nick helped their mother bring out the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and other dishes. They both took their seats as Thanksgiving dinner and the conversations started. Peter watched Neal as he ate and talked art with Elizabeth he knew instinctively Neal was trying to apologize for keeping Peter to himself for the last two days. Elizabeth happily accepted the apology they talked about taking a trip to the museum together if Peter would let them. After a few minutes Tobias decided to talk about his favorite subject of putting his second oldest grandson down.

"Why do you have to be such a disappointment to your mother, why when I was your age I was enjoying a great career with a family of my own to take care of and what do you have… a felony record and a personal babysitter that has to miss the holidays with his own family to be here making sure you don't rob a museum; no offense Burke, I must apologize for my no good grandson… I always told my daughter her parenting skills were weak and I've always been a firm supporter of real punishment in prison. There's nothing like a good old fashion whipping to get the point across. I think parents should be allowed to give their kids a smack when they deserved it… my girls got spanked and look how they turned out… Neal never got punished and see what happed he became a criminal. In fact in my opinion he should have gotten a daily beating to set him straight, his job with you is too cushy… all that art and not doing any real work, white collar crimes aren't even dangerous," Tobias said as he drank some more beer.

Before anyone could respond Neal started to give a cold chuckled that would make anyone shiver as he stood up and looked across the table at his mother's father. "So you think my job is easy…in the last year and a half my girlfriend died, I lost my memory, was poisoned, kidnapped, sold as a white slave beaten and tortured for a month, raped, shot and I nearly died twice." Neal said as he slammed his hand on the table right on his wine glass shattering it under his hand and the glass cutting him as he squeezed the broken glass in anger and ignoring the pain.

"There are some days that I pray that Peter will send me back to prison so I can be safer than I am at my job… and I've shot and killed a man, so tell me grandpa just how cushy does that sound to you… because this is the final straw I'm not taking your shit about me any longer and guess what I love doing what I do… I'm proud that I was able to forge those bonds and get away with it… for a while. I love aging painting to match the original and forging maps and the occasional signature on a document. I love the rush it gives me when I get behind the wheel of a car I just conned out of someone's possession. And as a hobby I do this," Neal said as he pulled a wallet out of his pocket with his good hand, it was a light denim wallet that belonged to his uncle Jacob. "You really shouldn't leave this in your back pocket it's too easy to steal," he added as he tossed it across the table.

Peter stood up silently and wrapped Neal's hand in a cloth napkin; he knew Neal was in pain and that he was probably going to need stitches, so when he got into the kitchen he followed Neal's instructions to find the first aid kit. When he stood up Peter found Neal waiting for him on the patio sitting in a chez lounge chair keeping his head turned away from his injured hand. "That had to be the most amazing thing I've ever seen you do Neal," Peter remarked as he sat down and got the tweezers and some gauze to remove the larger shards of glass. Neal winced at the pain slightly "I lied just a bit; I don't really pray to go back to prison… at least not anymore, so Dr. Burke how bad does it look?" He asked with a playful smile as he became his old self again.

"I will say this Neal; you sure do know how to make the holidays more interesting, and I think you're going to need some stitches but not too many; and we should hurry we could end up waiting all night to see a doctor," Peter remarked as he cleaned up the first aid kit. Neal pulled his phone out and dialed a number and waited a couple rings. "Hello…Doctor Stone, it's Neal Caffrey… I need a few stitches, no I'm home for the holidays, yes… four hundred and a Degas… okay two Degas and a Monet, I'll be on the patio in back," Neal said before hanging up. Peter put the kit down and didn't even to bother asking any questions about the call. "Do you need anything else?" he asked looking the injury over once more.

Neal smirked "I want a kiss to make it better right here," Neal remarked tapping his lips with his finger. "Only because my kitten has a boo-boo" Peter replied as he leaned in and gave Neal a small kiss to make him feel better. "Much better, uh can you stay with me…? I know I'm going to have a shot to not feel the pain but needles make me nervous," Neal said softly as the doctor walked around the corner of the patio with his bag in hand. "You know the drill; hand out and eyes close," the doctor said as he pulled a needle out of his bag to inject the local anesthetic.

Keeping his injured handed tucked close to his body Neal shook his head as he thought of the needle being stuck into his skin, Peter sat down behind Neal and put his hand over his eyes. "Just think of something else I won't let you peek so let me hold your hand out," Peter remarked as he put Neal's injured right hand in his right hand held it out to the doctor.

Putting his head back Neal whimpered as he felt the needle pierce his skin. When his hand went numb Neal sighed and allowed Peter move his hand that was covering his eyes so he could look at the sky while the doctor worked on his hand. When the doctor was done he bandaged Neal's hand and left four hundred dollar richer. "I'm starving; do you think there is any white meat left? Neal asked as he and Peter made their way into the house, they walked back into the dining room and found everyone waiting for them so they could eat dinner.

* * *

After eating his fill Neal talked about some of his cons that he had already been charged for and knew he didn't have to worry about being arrested. Everyone hung on ever word as he went into detail. Peter smiled when Neal told them about how he sent a bottle of champagne to the FBI team that was watching him. When dinner was finally over and the pies and cakes were served. Neal took a break from his stories to let Peter have a chance to talk and answer questions. Neal got up from the table and favored his right hand a bit as he helped put the leftovers away when his brother walked in and shoed Neal away from the food and did the work for him. "You stood up to the Admiral, you deserve to relax and rest your hand," Nick remarked as he took the wooden spoon from him.

"So are you ever going to tell him what you really do for a living in Russia?" Neal asked with a smirk as he sat at the kitchen table. Nick looked over his shoulder. "Are you kidding I'd like to keep my family jewels right where they are not taken off with a shotgun," Nick remarked as he scooped the rest of the stuffing into a large bowl. Neal stopped the wine glass he was holding from reaching his lips. "That's a charming way to put it, it's nice to see your time in Russia hasn't changed you too much," Neal replied with a smirk.

"Oh please you don't have the stones to tell him your bi so don't try and judge me for not telling him I work for the Russian government," Nick said as he filled the sink with water. Neal smirked as he stood up and left his brother to do the dishes. Walking out of the kitchen Neal went into the grand sitting room where everyone was sitting and talking. Looking around the room Neal spotted Peter talking to his grandfather and making his way across the room Neal stood beside Peter "Burke can you excuse us for a minute I need to speak with my grandson," Tobias said as he looked over at his grandson.

Peter knew that it was important so he excused himself to find the desserts before they were put away. Neal watched Peter as he walked off and left him alone. "You know for years I pushed and pushed hoping you would be a man and fight back but you never did but now I'm happy to say that I'm glad you finally stood up for yourself and proved you're not a wimp…and you're less of a disappointment now," he added as he clapped his grandson hard on the shoulder.

Neal smiled weakly "There is actually one more thing I have to say, I…I… Nick works for the Russian government," Neal said spilling his brother's secret and not his own. "Just don't tell him I told you, I have to go do some things…" he added as he walked away and went to the kitchen to get a glass of wine. After pouring a glass of red wine Neal walked out to the patio and watched as his cousins' daughters were running and playing with the dogs. He smiled as he watched them play. _Kate and I could have had all this at one point…it would have been nice, _Neal thought as he thought about going to Central park and walking hand in hand as the kids laughed and played._ What if had kids and they were…on the plane with Kate…_ Right at that moment Neal felt as if his heart was being shredded to bits at the thought of his nonexistent children being killed in the explosion.

Taking a step back Neal sat down on one of the chairs and looked at the wine in his glass. He was so lost in his own world he didn't even hear someone walk up beside him. "Here you are…Neal… Neal what's wrong?" Peter asked as he moved in front of Neal and sat across from him. "Neal you're crying…" he added as he cupped Neal's face in his hands and brushed the tears away with his thumbs. Reaching over Neal put the wine glass of the small table before he looked back into Peter's eyes. "I was just thinking about Kate…I was remembering our talk about kids, then this horrible thought crossed my mind… what if we had a child and my child was on that plane with her…" Neal said as fresh tears trailed down his cheeks. "I'll stay out here with you for a little while," Peter remarked as he moved his hands down and took Neal's hands in his and lifted them up and kissed his knuckles of them a couple times.

Neal smiled as Peter slowly released his hands and looked up when he heard someone clear their throat. "Oh…sir, you should know I was trying to tell you before when I spilled Nick's secret…" Neal said as he slowly stood up. Tobias held his hand up. "No need to explain your mother told us years ago after you ran away from home after your friend Gabe came looking for you when you didn't show up to school for three weeks," Tobias added as he looked at Peter "Burke…you may not be a military man but you have only one order, you keep my grandson from being a total screw up and try to keep him out of prison as best you can," Tobias said as he walked back inside. Peter smirked at his order. "He really doesn't know you very well does he," Peter remarked as he helped Neal to his feet and walked inside with him to talk to Neal's family some more.

* * *

As it got late the local guests headed home for the night and Neal said his goodbyes to everyone. He walked back into the kitchen and poured a new glass of wine before taking the bottle with him as he walked to the living room. As he sat on the large leather couch he sipped the wine in the dark room. Peter had gone to bed with his wife not long ago leaving Neal alone with thoughts. "You know your father told me when we first met that only men with guilty intentions drink wine in the dark, so going by his logic you must have some very guilty intentions especially if you plan on drinking that whole bottle of wine… do you want to talk about it?" Natasha asked as she sat down on the chair next to the couch. Neal looked at his mother.

"Not really, I know the risks of what could happen but I'm following some advice a wise woman once gave me…no matter what happens if you're following your heart then you've broken no laws, because matters of the heart are more important than anything else in the world," Neal said quoting his mother from when he was a child. Natasha stood up and shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then try to get some sleep soon sweetie," Natasha said as she kissed Neal on the forehead before leaving the living room. As she closed the door she walked toward the stairs to the second floor.

Shaking her head she looked at Peter at the bottom of the stairs "I'm sorry Peter I tried but he didn't want to talk at all, but I think he gave me a clue as to what he's up to, he repeated something I said to him when he was six about following his heart… so if we think in Neal logic then it might have something to do with Kate, who else has this much control over my son," Natasha said as she kept her voice down so as not to let Neal overhear her. Peter smirked, "I take it you weren't much of a fan of Kate?" Peter asked as he ascended the stairs with Natasha.

"Of course, I never trusted her I always thought she was up to something, I only met her twice and she acted nice but Peter you have to remember I'm a mother and a thief I know how to act to fool others and I know an act when I see one, I just wish my son wasn't so blind to her actions, now I will see you in the morning," Natasha said as she split away from Peter and walked down the hall to the master bedroom.

Peter stood there and sighed. _How could I not see it…it's always Kate, it's always going to be Kate even when she's dead she still has her claws deep in Neal's heart,_ Peter thought as he made his way into the guest room and changed before climbing into bed. As he pulled his blankets up and put his arm around his wife Peter felt his mind drift to thoughts of Neal what Kate had to do with Neal's recent actions. Sleep didn't come easy but after hours of tossing and turning it finally came to Peter.

* * *

By three in the afternoon Peter woke up with a small groan, he looked around as he sat up. Right away Peter noticed his bag was on the bed and halfway packed for him. Changing his clothes quickly he went downstairs and found Neal sitting at the kitchen table sipping a glass of water. "Neal, we we're supposed to leave two hours ago, where is Elizabeth?" Peter asked looking around the kitchen. Neal smiled as he looked up from the paper, "Elizabeth took the train home already, she got a call early this morning a bride was on the war path about the roses or something like that, so Elizabeth left around six and she took Satchmo with her she also said you were having trouble sleeping and that I should let you sleep as long as possible. So I did and your sense of time must be way off since its three in the afternoon Peter you've been out like a light all day," Neal remarked as he stood up from where he was sitting.

"We should get going then," Peter said trying to get his sense of time back to normal. Neal smiled "I'm packed and ready I'm just waiting for you Muffin," Neal said as he walked past Peter and kissed his cheek. After a rush job of packing Peter dragged his bags to the front door where he found Neal waiting for him dressed like an average guy not an ex conman. "You look good…what's the occasion?" Peter asked with a smile, Neal froze for a second thinking Peter was on to him; quickly he covered his worry with a smile. "I like to dress down when I'm traveling on the train is all; we should get going though we wouldn't want to get home too late," Neal said as he opened the door for the driver who took their bags and held the car door open for them.

Peter got into the car and watched Neal climb in; when they arrived at the train station they rushed to the platform and got onto the train as it arrived. The train car was quite full forcing Peter and Neal to stand by the far doors of the car that didn't open at the platform. Neal could swear that someone was copping a feel but before he could speak he felt Peter pull him dangerously close and his grip tightening on him, for a moment he swore he heard Peter growl protectively though at the same time the brakes squealed.

The train arrived at Grand Central on time and by the time they fought their way through the throng of people Neal fixed his grip on his bag as he walked up the stairs with Peter to the cab stop. "Peter I'm going to catch a cab and head home, I've got to get ready for work on Monday. I'll call you later I promise," Neal said as he hailed a cab, he knew that he only had an hour to get to the docks. He looked back at Peter with a smile as he got into the cab and told the driver where to go. After fighting city traffic the cab pulled up to the docks and after paying the driver Neal got out of the cab and pulled his jacket close to him as he walked to the docks and sat on the bench and waited.

"Cutting it close Neal? I don't usually work with people who are tardy, now come walk with me…" Vincent said as he started to walk down the small wharf. Hitching his bag on his shoulder Neal followed behind him like a loyal dog, "I've been kind enough to give you this meeting so I could make sure you weren't going to back out on me… if you tried to back out then you never will find out what happened to Kate," Adler said as he turned around and looked at Neal. "Here you go, this is the address of the residence and I want the necklace as soon as it's out of the museum," he said as he pulled a card out of his breast pocket and handed it to his former protégé. "If you try to turn me into the FBI you might just end up with a bullet in your pretty little head like that drug dealer, I think you know who I'm talking about… well I must be going now," Adler said as he waved his car over and got in and took off.

* * *

Just incase everyone is curious to know what nick and neal said at thanksgiving dinner

Neal: (Italian ) *Dear lord, we are gathered here to break bread and enjoy this feast while we are forced to see relatives that we can not stand and eat food that makes us fat.

Nick(French)*Dear lord, thank you for this feast we are about to eat, for once I'm eating something that I will not be sitting in the bathroom the rest of the night for, Amen.


	9. Chapter 9

(( here is the final chapter of Rebirth but it is not the end of the story look for Rebirth II:Consequences. I hope you all like this chapter and keep reviewing and reading to find out what happens. Loves and Hugs Bun Bun Babe~)

**Chapter 9: Fallen Angel**

Neal watched as the town car drove off when it vanished around the corner. When he was alone Neal pulled out his phone and dialed a number from memory. As the other end rang Neal moved backward until he hit the edge of a steel building. "Neal…what's up did you forget something?" Nick asked as he excused himself from dinner with his girlfriend. When he didn't get a response he got worried,

"Neal…hey what's wrong?" he asked again getting worried. Neal put his head in his hand as he slid down the wall and curled up in a ball. "Nick I'm probably in the worst trouble of my life, I know you're in the city tonight…" Neal was terrified he figured everything out the moment Adler had mentioned Jordan; Adler was the man known as Puppet Master. Nick took in a deep breath and looked into the restaurant at his girlfriend. "I'll come get you, okay… I'll be there as soon as I can; do you want me to stay on the line?" Nick asked. Neal tried to hide the sniffle that would give away that he was on the verge of crying. "I'll be fine, just please try to hurry," Neal said softly as he hung up on his brother and pocketed his phone.

Nick sighed and walked back to his table "I have to go…Neal says he's in trouble but he could just be blowing things out of proportion again, you have the key to the hotel room I'll be back as soon as I can," Nick promised as he kissed his girlfriend before leaving the hotel restaurant and hailing a cab. After giving the address he sat back and held on for dear life as the cab driver got him from the Plaza hotel to the docks in less than seven minutes. Nick paid the driver and told him to wait a ten minutes. Walking down the long entrance to the docks Nick glanced around he wished he had brought his gun with him. Scanning the area with his eyes he found Neal crouched under a light his bag beside him.

Rushing over to his brother Nick looked him over for any injuries and when he couldn't find any he grabbed Neal by the shoulders and pulled him to his feet. As Neal looked at the ground he felt stupid for calling his brother. "Come on I'm taking you to June's and you're going to tell me everything and I mean everything or else I'm leaving it to Peter to find out what's wrong," Nick remarked as he dragged his brother back to the cab and pushed him inside and gave the cabbie June's address. The cab drove quickly down the twelve blocks to June's. Neal stayed quiet as he held onto his bag and let his brother guide him into June's house. When they were in Neal's apartment Neal dropped his bag by the door. Moving across the apartment Neal dropped himself into a chair by his easel and looked at his brother. "Alright, what trouble are you in?" Nick asked as he watched his younger brother.

Neal slowly got up from his seat and went to his wine bottles on his counter and opened one up before grabbing a glass from the cabinet. "Do you remember the last thing Jordan Wilson said before he was shot?" Neal asked as he poured a glass of wine. Nick thought for a moment "Yeah, he said someone else pulled all his and that dirty agent Lawson's strings… why do you ask?" Nick questioned as he watched his brother. Neal quickly downed one glass of wine before pouring himself another, "I met up with Adler again…" "Him… again…how many times did Burke bounce your head off the headboard for you to become this stupid? He is not to be trusted, you should know that…" Nick asked as he tried not to get mad at his brother.

"He knows who killed Kate, I need to know what happened, and you would do the same if something happened to Catherine," Neal said as he looked at his wine in his hands. Nick sighed "God you're such an idiot Neal...so how does Adler tie in with that Wilson guy and this terrible trouble you're in?" Nick asked as he got up and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Adler is the Puppet Master and he had Jordan killed and he told me if I turn him into the FBI I'll have the same ending as Jordan, and I may have agreed to do a job for him…" Neal said softly as he kept his gaze down.

* * *

Looking at his younger brother Nick resisted the urge to crack him over the head with his beer bottle for his stupidity. "So how am I supposed to help you get out of this anyway?" he asked wondering what kind of crazy plan Neal had. "I just need you to call the U.S. Marshalls and do an impression of Peter and tell them you're going to be undoing my tracker and you need the alarm turned off so you can remove it for four hours, when I tell you when to call them. You don't have to do anything else I promise," Neal said hoping his brother would help him out. "If you get me arrested I swear I'll never forgive you for the rest of our lives," Nick said as he agreed to the offer. "I have a feeling there is more to the story but I'm not getting into it it's your screw up not mine, now I'm going back to the hotel and try to propose to Catherine… if you call me one more time tonight… just don't, I'll see you later Neal," Nick said as he put his beer down and left Neal's apartment.

Neal brought the beer to the sink and dumped it out before he dumped his glass out and washed it before putting it on the drying rack. Walking across his room Neal went into his small bedroom area and stripped his clothes off and grabbed the pair of silk bottoms he left in the drawer and put them on before he grabbed his night care kit out of his bag and brought them to the bathroom. Once he was ready to call it a night Neal crawled into bed and tried to get comfortable. As his head hit the pillow he remembered he promised to call Peter, reaching for his pants on the floor he grabbed his phone and sent Peter a quick text saying he was turning in early and he would call him in the morning. After sending the message Neal turned the light off and tried to sleep.

* * *

Waking early the next morning Neal yawned as he climbed out of bed. Then after dressing in a pair of jogging pants and a tee shirt he put on a pair of sneakers before grabbing his phone and wallet and house keys. Stretching as walked down the stairs Neal exited the mansion and began jogging down the sidewalk Neal followed his usual jogging path down the sidewalk smiling at the usual people getting ready to start their day. After jogging a few blocks Neal made his way into the small market he frequented and grabbing a basket Neal picked out what he needed from the shelves. It was as he passed down one aisle that he stopped and looked at the energy drinks. _If I'm going to be keeping up with work and my after work project I will need these, I should grab a couple now_ Neal thought as he grabbed a dozen tall cans of energy drinks and put them in his basket before walking to the register. Once he paid for his things Neal began the walk home, when he got back to June's he let himself in and made his way up to his apartment.

As he entered his apartment Neal felt something was off, he knew that June was still visiting family and the maids were not there so there was no one in the house but him but he had the nagging feeling that someone had been there touching his things. Shivering slightly Neal put the bag of groceries on the counter and began putting things away. Waving the feeling off to pre-theft jitters Neal went into his back storage room and got his tools ready to forge the necklace. Pulling out his phone he called Mozzie and waited for him to pick up the phone. "Moz I will be there in ten minutes, do you have everything ready?" Neal asked as he grabbed his sketch book and the envelope of pearls and packed them along with the energy drinks into a small gym bag. "Okay I will be there soon Moz," Neal said as he checked to make sure he had all he needed before leaving.

Leaving his apartment Neal jogged down the stairs and leaving the mansion he walked down the sidewalk to the loft Mozzie had within his radius Neal checked to make sure he hadn't been followed as he climbed the stairs to the top floor."Moz you're a real prince to do this for me," Neal said as he went over to the workbench and started to look everything Mozzie had gotten him. "You realize this is insane right… you're going to get caught and you're going to go back to jail," Mozzie said as he hovered around Neal like a moth to the flame.

"Moz everything is going to be fine, I probably won't get caught… if I do I have a great lawyer that will keep me out of prison," Neal remarked as he got to work on the forgery. Not wanting to hover around any longer Mozzie grabbed a book and walked over to the couch on the other side of the loft. Neal was lost in his own world at that point. He had slipped on a pair of latex gloves to hide his prints and keep any blood from his hand from getting out in case he ripped out his stitches. In the back of his mind Neal was already planning on how to get into the private residence. As he started on attaching the fake diamonds into the settings on the first pendent he thought to what Gabe had said to him about Peter arresting him. Just as he brushed that thought aside his phone began to ring.

Reaching into his pocket Neal cradled his phone against his shoulder. "Good morning Peter…oh I'm not up to much just hanging around with Moz, yes I'm staying in my radius," Neal said as he winced as he felt another stitch tighten when he moved his hand the wrong way. "Well I'll see you Monday at work," Neal said before hanging up. As he put his phone down and picked up the pendent Neal worked carefully for three hours as he made sure each diamond was perfectly in place before moving onto the next one_. I should start mixing and creating the fake center gems… it's going to take three days and I'll have to watch the process closely to make sure the stones come out perfect…_ Neal thought as he mixed the powdered chemicals for the center stone.

* * *

By dinner time Sunday night Neal had just finished stage one of the gem making and now he had to wait another six hours to turn the heat down and make sure the fake gems were keeping shape. Downing a seventh energy drink Neal sat down and yawned, he made sure he bought the strongest drinks at the store and they were working. He had been awake for two days non-stop.

"Neal, do you want something to eat?" Mozzie called from the small kitchen of the loft. The ex con looked up from his sketch pad and shook his head he was too wired on caffeine to eat at the moment to eat since he knew it would absorb the drink in his stomach and make him less awake. _If I eat anything I might fall asleep and Mozzie has said he won't be a part of this anymore than he is…_ Neal thought as he felt the new caffeine start to work. _I'll have to make sure I don't look too tired at work tomorrow, Peter will get suspicious if I look like I'm about to fall asleep._ He added as he continued to sketch a few new drawings.

* * *

Peter looked at his laptop as he checked Neal's tracking data again. He had chased Neal for years and he knew his lover well and Neal being in one place that wasn't his home for a long time was not a good sign. "Honey… do you want the ketchup?" Elizabeth asked as she tried to get her husband's attention, she was worried Peter had been starting at his computer for so long that Satchmo had already attempted to steal his dinner from his plate three times without him noticing. Elizabeth reached forward and pushed the top of the laptop down to snap her husband out of his trance. "Oh sorry El…it's just Neal hasn't moved from this spot in two days, it's not a computer hack he's actually there but I can't figure out why… he said he was visiting Mozzie but I can't help but think this has something to do with whatever it is he's hiding from me. If I ask him again he'll just stonewall me again," Peter said as he finally began to eat.

"I'm just glad that you finally snapped out of that trance, I was afraid I was going to have to rob a bank to get you attention…and Neal is a big boy if he's not doing anything illegal then just leave him alone. You know how Neal gets when you don't trust him," Elizabeth said as she got up from the table with her empty plate. Peter had reopened his laptop at that point. "Oh that wouldn't catch my interest very much," Peter remarked as he started to get lost in his own world again. Walking back out of the kitchen Elizabeth looked at her husband "Oh really, so what does get your attention then?"Elizabeth asked with a smirk. "Well it's your charm and your beauty that gets my attention," Peter said leaving his ex con lover out of the sentence altogether. Right away Elizabeth sat back down at the table with a smirk on her lips. "So what about Neal, how does he catch your attention, I have to say I'm quite curious to find out what you would say," Elizabeth said as she waited for an answer.

Knowing he was destined for the dog house after answering the question Peter sighed "Neal catches my attention with everything I guess, it's hard to put into words...it's just something about him is all," Peter said as he looked over at his wife. Elizabeth smiled at her husband "Neal is like that I guess, I have no real reason to be jealous since you've practically been with Neal for almost as long as we've been together. Chasing him all around the world, staying up long nights thinking about him…you know before I actually met him I was jealous of him having all your attention, he was sending you cards and keeping you busy on our anniversaries he was your white whale. And now he's your boyfriend… funny how the world works, so I have to ask…are you going to tell him about Christmas at your parents?" Elizabeth asked as she smiled at her husband.

Laughing a bit Peter shook his head. "Not yet, I'm afraid they would eat him alive…you know how religious my folks are, if they found out he was bi that's one thing they may pretend to like him while he's there, if they found out I was sleeping with him it's the end of the world for me. But since he invited me to his family's home I guess I have to invite him," Peter remarked as he started to plan how to ask Neal in the back of his mind about the upcoming holidays.

After a long night of talking Peter dragged himself up the stairs to his room to get to sleep early for work the next day, when he pulled his shirt off he heard his phone buzz, and after grabbing his phone off the nightstand he found a text message from Neal saying he would meet him at work the next day. Shrugging it off Peter put his phone back down and finished changing before going to bed for the night.

* * *

Whistling as he walked into the FBI building Peter went through the downstairs security and made way to the elevator as he took the short ride up to the twenty-first floor. As he walked to the office door he spotted Neal sitting at his desk working with his head down. Peter entered the bullpen and stopped by Neal's desk. "Good morning Neal, you're here early," Peter remarked with a smile. Neal looked up from his paperwork with an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. "What's so damn good about it…?" Neal grumbled his blue eyes hidden behind two dark black bags; his attire was that of casual pants and a turtleneck. "Neal you look like you haven't slept in two days…"Peter remarked as he watched his lover look away and go back to work. Trying to keep from looking up Neal started to fill out a report he had already done. Grumbling and crumpling the paper up he felt Peter grab his hand.

"Neal you're tired go home and sleep, I can't have you around when you're this cranky," Peter said as he patted Neal on the head. With a loud crack as Neal slapped Peter's hand away. "I'm not a child you don't have to tell me to go home and sleep. I am fully capable of working, I had one of those little energy shot things a couple minutes ago so I'll be back to normal soon. So go do something useful and let me do the job I'm allowed to do," Neal snapped as he tried to concentrate on the paperwork before him. Peter rolled his eyes and walked up to his office with Diana and Jones behind him.

Diana closed the door behind the three of them and stood with her back to the glass wall. "What's got his panties in a knot?" she asked glancing back at Neal who was currently glaring at his cousin. Peter looked over Diana's shoulder at the ex con and sighed when he saw Neal grab Dante around the neck and started to throttle him. Sighing loudly Peter walked to the door and yanked it open, "Neal stop strangling you cousin, Dante leave him alone," Peter called as he sighed again.

Grumbling as he let his cousin go Neal yawned as he sat back down, at that point he was radiating an aura of crankiness that seemed to be spreading out far enough to alert anyone walking by that he wasn't to be bothered. Grabbing his already finished report Neal stomped past a group of probie agents that pushed themselves far from the passing ex con out of fear. Neal ignored them as he walked into Peter's office without knocking. "It's not nice to talk about people behind their back," Neal grumbled as he stumbled a bit when he got to Peter's desk.

"Go home Neal…you're dead on your feet and you're no good to us this way," Peter remarked as he held his hand out to keep Neal from falling over. Neal forced himself to stand up straight and stay awake. "I'm fine Peter…I told you… that…" Neal mumbled as he tried to stay standing his sleep deprived mind shut down and wouldn't listen to him as he tried to move away from the three agents. Peter caught the unconscious ex con and sighed under the weight of the younger man. "Jones, go get a cot and bring it in here," Peter ordered as he sat on the floor and let use Neal use him as a pillow.

Jones left the office and went to the storage locker in the basement and found a usable cot and brought it back to Peter's office, after setting the cot up he walked back to his desk and let Peter take care of Neal. Peter moved Neal to the cot and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and used it as a blanket to keep Neal warm. _ He's out like a light; I doubt a bomb would even wake him up…_ Peter thought as he sat at his desk and worked on his cases. At lunch time Peter checked on Neal and found him still dead to the world. Diana walked in and smirked "So he's still out of it, he must have been up for a long time to be this out of it. Do you want me to bring you back something from the take out place?" Diana asked as she looked away from Neal's sleeping form.

Peter looked up from his paperwork. "Chicken lo mein and orange chicken fried rice with two egg rolls and a large wonton soup, also make sure they give you extra fortune cookies" Peter said as he handed Diana his money for his and Neal's lunch, he knew that even if Neal didn't wake up he would be hungry later. She nodded before leaving and heading out with the other agents. When she returned she handed Peter and Neal's order over to her boss along with his change. Peter got up and closed his office door before he opened the bag of take-out; he looked at the food and pulled his order out of the bag before closing it back up.

Opening the carton up of lo-mein Peter fished a fork out of the bag before he searched the top layer of noodles for the right piece of chicken, when he found it he speared the slice of chicken and ate it as he worked to get his paperwork done faster than if he just watched Neal sleep. _If I sent him home who knows if he would actually go to sleep…its better that he passed out here where I can watch him._ Peter thought as he glanced back over at Neal's sleeping form. When he was full he repacked the bag and went into the small kitchen area and put the bag in the fridge with the express orders that no one touch it unless they wanted to deal with a cranky Neal again. _I have my threat of prison for him and now I can get more work done here with the threat of a cranky Neal… he just made my job easier…_Peter thought with a smirk as he walked back into his office.

* * *

By the end of the work day Peter had finished his paperwork and filed it in all the right places. He said goodbye to the other agents as they left before he returned to his office and sat by Neal's cot and shook him lightly to wake him up. Neal slowly opened his eyes and yawned. "How long have I been asleep?"He mumbled as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Peter smiled and looked at his watch "About eight hours give or take a couple minutes, I was starting to worry about you…so care to explain why you were so tired that you passed out?"Peter asked as he brushed some hair out of Neal's eyes. "Right…about that…I didn't sleep well all weekend so I'm sorry I worried you, If I had called in you would have told me to cowboy up and get into work," Neal said with a smile as he scooted off the cot and sat beside Peter.

"I got your favorites from the take-out place down the street, so why don't you eat because I'm sure you're hungry after sleeping so long. Why don't you get our food from the fridge and we'll have cold take-out for dinner," Peter said as he got to his feet and walked into the conference room. After a minute Neal walked in with the bag and sat across from Peter.

Peter watched Neal as he started to eat the cold food; he waited for the right moment before he jumped "I know you're lying to me Neal… about something and I know it's big so I'm only going to warn you once. Stop now before you get in too deep and tell me what's wrong so that I can help you," he said as he watched Neal for any reaction. "You know what I think I'm going to go and heat my food up, wonton soup is much better hot," Neal remarked as he avoided Peter's gaze as he got up and went to the kitchen area to warm his soup. When he got back Peter was waiting for him so they could talk. "Peter… I'm not lying to you, so please trust me… it's a two way street and if you don't trust me then why should I trust you?" Neal asked trying to get some of the heat off of him. "I do trust you Neal, that's why I hope you, trust me enough to tell me the truth," Peter replied as he watched the younger man.

_I'm already in way too deep; in fact I'm not even treading water anymore I've already sunk and drowned in the proverbial ocean…_ Neal thought as he picked at the wonton in his soup and looked down from Peter's gaze. "Neal… how would you like to come to my parents place for Christmas?" Peter asked with an uneasy smile. "Oh, I would really enjoy that Peter…but I think I may have other plans for the holiday," Neal said as he speared the wonton in his bowl._ I may be in jail or on the run depending on how this job goes…_ Neal thought as he looked at the FBI agent sitting across from him. "Wait a minute I thought you didn't want me to ever meet your family?" Neal asked a little stunned. Peter looked across the table at his lover "I think it's time you met them… as my partner only, my family still thinks I'm a devout Catholic," he remarked as he looked directly into Neal's eyes. Neal smirked seductively "I think you fell off that train the day you first met me," he remarked as he took a bite out of the dumpling on his fork. "But as for your invitation I'm gonna have to go with a maybe… for now," Neal said softly as he kept eating.

Once Neal was finished and the leftovers were packed up Neal made his way over to the elevator to wait for Peter while he packed up a few files to take home, _I don't know what to do Peter is on to me... he knows I'm lying to him but not what I'm lying about._ Neal thought as he went down to the car with Peter. Staying quiet on the ride homeNeal tapped his fingers on his knee as he thought things over as he was driven home. When Peter pulled up to June's he put the car in park and turned the engine off. "You don't have to come up Peter, my place is probably a mess and I'm going to go bed as soon as I get up there," Neal said trying to keep the agent out of his his head Peter got out of the car and walked around the back and opened the door for Neal. "I'm just going to make sure you get up the stairs without falling, I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Besides I want what's left of my food and you have the bag," Peter remarked with a chuckle.

Neal laughed as he led Peter inside and up to his apartment, as he unlocked his door and opened it he turned the lights on and made his way to the counter to take his food out. Moving quickly he put his food in the fridge and handed Peter his food in the bag. "Well here you go, I'll see you in the morning," Neal said as he kicked his shoes off. "You're acting strange Neal…I know you're hiding something and I will find out what you're hiding from me. Now I'll go, I'll be here to pick you up at seven the day after tomorrow so be ready for me, tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment so you have to fend for yourself for a couple hours" Peter said as he made his way to the door. _Neal never passes up the offer to keep me for as long as he can but now he's pushing me out the door,_ he thought as he wondered what Neal was up to.

"I'll make sure that I'm ready, I'll see you later tomorrow Peter," Neal said as he gave Peter a quick hug and kiss. "I'm going to go to bed after I read a bit," Neal said as he walked over to the chair by his book case. When he heard the door snap behind Peter, Neal stood up and pulled his phone out and dialed Mozzie's number. "Hey Moz could you bring the necklaces over, and keep an eye out for Peter's car he's on to me…no he doesn't know what he just knows. I know… I know… you're right getting romantically involved with the FBI is a very bad idea, but that is your opinion" Neal said before he hung up. _ Two days…that's when the necklace is leaving the museum…_ Neal thought as he let out another sigh.

* * *

Peter walked up the stairs to Neal's apartment when he got there he found Neal at his table reading the front page of the paper about a necklace leaving the museum and going back to private hands after being in the museum for years. "You're looking happy about something," Peter remarked as he sat across from Neal and looked at him. "It's just such a nice day and I missed riding to work with you yesterday," Neal answered as he put the paper down and got up from where he was sitting. "El was glad she got to see that necklace in the museum…she said it's pretty amazing, have you ever seen it before?"Peter asked as he grabbed the empty cup on the table and poured himself some coffee.

Neal looked at the picture in the news paper. _Is he on to me?_ Neal thought as he gave a fake smile, "Peter you know that museum is out of my range so I couldn't go to it," Neal said as he stood up and walked by Peter._ I need the key to my anklet… I'll have to steal it after work, beer laced with anti-anxiety pills worked on Nick I'll just invite Peter up, then I'll slip a couple pills in a beer and let him drink they should knock him out until morning_ Neal thought as he walked to his dresser to put something warm on since it was the beginning of December and cold out. "Why don't you wear that grey turtleneck it really looks good on you," Peter remarked as Neal dug around and found the warm shirt Peter liked. After finding a pair of warm pants to go with it Neal jogged after Peter and went down to his car.

When they got to work after fighting city traffic Neal ran upstairs first and found Nick at his temporary desk. "Hey little brother…whoa" Nick caught himself as he almost fell over his own feet as Neal dragged him into the stairwell. "Nick…Peter is on to me…I don't know how much he's figured out but we've got to make our move tonight," he said as leaned against the wall. "Look Neal, what if you just make a run for it…mom and dad can hide you in Europe or Asia," Nick said trying to keep his brother safe.

"Nick, he'll never give up…and if I run who knows what Adler will do to ones I leave behind, so please help me out…if I get caught I swear I'll never turn you in," Neal promised. Nick sighed "Cat is going kill me but you are my brother and I know that you'll owe me big for this and I mean best man at my wedding and paying out of pocket for a bachelor party and paying for the whole wedding. Do that or you go hide in a cave in France," Nick said as he gave his terms of agreement. Neal thought for a moment and came up with a counter offer. "What if I get you Burke Premiere events to do the wedding, my bakery does the cake and I throw the biggest bachelor party so big it makes the headlines of the paper," Neal countered as he held his hand out. "Sounds like a plan, just don't get caught alright," Nick said as he shook his younger brother's hand.

As they returned to work Neal looked up at Peter's office and watched him for a moment before going to his own desk to work. _The necklaces are done and I have the address all I need to do now is get out of this anklet and get back into it in four hours…I just need the key and Peter has it on his key ring and I'll have to get it from him before I can make my move._ Neal thought as he got back into the groove of work. The workday progressed with few problems Hughes was happy that everyone managed to get through working a day with three members of the same family with little problems. Peter had spent the day going over cases and watching Neal's every move. By mid day Jones walked in "I looked Neal's data over again and he's made two trips to that dock, and the second time he took a cab or a car of some kind," Jones said as he handed Peter the report.

* * *

Neal stretched his arms over his head at the end of the work day; he looked at his brother before he stood up and walked to Peter's office. "Hey there, how about drinks tonight at my place… you me and some beer for you and wine for me?" Neal asked as he sat across from Peter. "That sounds good, I could use a beer, why don't we head over now we might get stuck in traffic if we wait," Peter said as he got up from his seat and walked around his desk. When they got into the car Neal watched the agent beside him memorizing each move he made the entire ride to June's, he knew that if anything went wrong he would have to run and never come back to New York.

They made it to June's two hours later since the traffic during rush hour around the federal building was a nightmare; Neal smiled and walked upstairs with Peter. When they got up to his apartment Neal walked right over to his bookcase and grabbed a DVD case off the shelf. "Will you stay and watch this with me?" Neal asked hoping to spend one last night with Peter. "I don't see why not, we really haven't done this in a long time," Peter remarked as he removed his jacket and tie. Neal put the DVD into the player and curled up on the couch and put his head against Peter's chest and put his arm around him in a hug.

Peter smirked when he saw which movie they were watching "Seriously… Catch me if you can? I thought you would find this movie annoying?" Peter asked as he looked at Neal. "I think this movie is perfect, it's almost like someone was writing about us…" Neal said softly as the movie started. Nuzzling against Peter's shoulder Neal sighed and listened to Peter's heartbeat instead of the movie dialog. Peter put his arm around Neal and felt him move closer. As the movie got closer to the end Neal got up and got Peter another beer, using a slight of hand trick he slipped two sleeping pills into Peter's beer and gave it a small swirl before handing it over. So by the end of the movie Peter began to feel drowsy, Neal swallowed hard as he sat up and looked at the older man. Biting his lip he watched as Peter started to fall asleep. "I'm sorry, please… forgive me," as he whispered and kissed Peter. Reaching into Peter's pocket he grabbed his keys and pulled them out, grabbing the key to his anklet he put the rest of the keys on the coffee table before he got up and shut the TV off. Walking to where he was hiding the fake necklaces he pulled them out of the vase on his mantel.

Grabbing both necklaces Neal shoved them into a small bag along with a card of security codes, a stethoscope and a small bag of tools. Walking into his closet Neal put on a blue jumpsuit and brushed his hair down to make him look younger, looking at his reflection in the mirror he sighed softly. Neal pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Nick's number. "Yeah… Nick I'm going to head over soon. Moz got me a truck, he has it tucked away at the edge of my radius, I'll call you when I get to the truck, as soon as I hang up then you call that number I gave you and tell them I'll be offline for…. Let's see it's going to take time to get in, ten to twenty minutes to get the safe open, so give me an hour you know what better make it two incase it goes south I have an hour to get away," Neal said hanging up as he walked out of his apartment and slipped through the mansion.

Ten minutes later Neal found the old gas company truck tucked away in the free parking lot, grabbing the keys off the tire he got into the vehicle and called his brother again. "Nick, make the call, I'm in the truck… and look if I have to make a run I will get in touch with Mozzie somehow and he'll give you any money you need for the wedding," Neal said before hanging up. As he waited the seconds ticked by like hours, watching his anklet like a hawk he watched the lights turn off. Sticking the key into the lock he waited until the beep sounded that said the lock had disengaged. Pulling his anklet off Neal looked at it for a moment before throwing it out the window into the mud.

Driving away as fast as city traffic would allow Neal knew deep in his heart that with each passing second there was little chance of returning to his sheltered FBI consultant life. When he arrived at the address Neal grabbed his bag and walked across the street and made sure he remembered his lines. Knocking loudly he waited for someone to open the door. As the door opened Neal smiled "Excuse me Mr. Richards, I'm Mark Ryan I work for the gas company, we've been working on a gas line a block away and we're going door to door to check to make sure we haven't had any leaks on the gas line that runs under this row of homes, I'll have to ask you and anyone else that lives here to leave the home for safety precautions for at least two hours while I disconnect and check your gas," Neal lied hoping that he would believed.

With a nod Neal was led in by the owner of the house to the kitchen, after being warned of the security system and the dogs out back the older man primed the security system for the second floor and left in his town car. Letting out a huge sigh Neal grabbed his phone and called Mozzie. "Okay Moz I'm in now keep watch for his car I'm going upstairs now, and you weren't kidding this guy has every system known to man…"Neal said as he typed in the first code and once that went through he typed in the next two codes until the system shut off. Running up the stairs like a jack rabbit Neal ducked into study and looked around until he spotted the safe.

Rushing over to it he opened his bag and tossed the tools aside and grabbed the stethoscope and placed it against the safe over the tumblers._ God bless the older generation still trusting these old safes._ Neal thought as he smirked and listened for the tumblers to click behind the steel face in front of him. When he heard the first tumbler click a spark of pleasure shoot up his spine. Ignoring the feeling Neal listened for the second tumbler as he began to turn the dial again when the second tumbler clicked ten minutes later he was giddy as he began to work on the final tumbler.

After twenty painfully long minutes Neal heard the sound of the final tumbler clicked Neal ripped the stethoscope away from his ears and wrapped it around his neck. Opening the safe carefully he smiled at the view in front of him. Sifting through the safe Neal grabbed the flat box on the top shelf and after opening it he looked at the necklace in awe before he stuffed the necklace into a silk bag and the first fake into the box and returning it to the safe as he stood up. After shutting the safe door and grabbed his bag. Neal got ready to leave he felt his phone buzz against his leg. "Hey Moz… I got it, wait… what; okay I'm going to run for it, meet me out back in the alley, leave the truck Moz…" Neal said as he hung up on Mozzie and skidded into the kitchen skidding to a stop in front of the back door. Opening the door Neal ran out and jumped over the small patio area into the yard below.

* * *

Looking around the dark yard Neal remembered the warning about the dogs, moving forward he felt a twig snap under weight. Right away he heard a snarl come from under one of the large trees. Running like a marathon runner Neal came to the back fence, not wasting any time he leapt over the tall fence and ignored the pain in his leg from where the dog's nails had caught him. Landing on the ground hard, dropping his bag he stripped off the gas company uniform that covered his clothes.

Dropping the suit into a trashcan Neal ran down the back alley to where Mozzie was waiting for him, reaching into the bag he pulled the silk bag with the real necklace out of his bag and held it out to his friend. "Here Moz take this and hide it at one of your places, don't go back to the loft in my radius chances are Peter will look there first. And thanks Moz… I'll make it up to you someday," he promised as he ran off into the shadows. Making his way to a busy street Neal tossed the cap he was wearing before he flagged a cab. Pulling out his phone he called Adler's burn phone and waited for the man to pick up.

"I've got it…alright; I understand… the end of the dock the box on the deck… I'll be there in less than fifteen minutes and you'll get what you want I promise," Neal said as he patted the duffle bag where the fake necklace was hidden before hanging up and putting his phone in his pocket. The cab pulled up to the docks and came to a stop; Neal paid the driver and got out of the cab. The air felt heavy to Neal like someone was watching him, looking around the area he shook it off and made his way down to the docks when he stepped on the dock he took in a deep breath as he walked down the semi lit dock to a waiting speed boat. When he got to the end of the dock he found a box resting on the deck of the boat. As he stepped onto the boat Neal dropped the second fake necklace into the box and closed the lid before stepping off the boat.

Neal could feel the con artist in him telling him that something wasn't right, as he headed back toward the only road that led back to the city from the wharf area Neal swore he saw something move in the shadows. Before his mind could even process the thought large flood lights flooded the area with light catching him off guard and making him look like a deer caught in a car's headlights. As he raised his arm up to block the light he could see shadows moving around him. Soon there was a ring of FBI and local police officers surrounding him with their guns drawn. It took Neal a moment to realize that someone was yelling at him to put his hands up, when his mind caught up to what was going on the ex con backed away a step only to find that the police officers that had been hidden behind a dumpster had closed in and had him trapped.

Looking for any escape Neal felt his entire being crumble when the line of agents in front of him broke to allow Peter through. The second his eyes met with Peter's Neal knew he was in the deepest trouble of his life. In all the years he knew Peter he had never seen him look so angry. Neal closed his eyes and waited for the impending tongue lashing he knew he was about to receive. After a moment Neal slowly opened his eyes and looked at Peter. Before he could open his mouth to apologize Peter stopped him with a glare. "You lied to me Neal…again… and again over the last few weeks, before you even think of lying to me again just know this, I don't want anything to do with you, I don't want to be your lover… your partner… I don't even want to call you my friend… you're going back to prison Neal for a very long time," Peter hissed as he turned and walked away.

Trying to hold himself together Neal started to hyperventilate as he tried not to break down in front of the police and other FBI agents. Diana walked forward her gun gone and her handcuffs in its place, she slowly began to cuff Neal's hands together in front of his body so he could wipe away any tears in the car. After a moment Diana led Neal past the ring of agents and brought him to her car, she placed him in the back seat and looked at the broken shell of Neal Caffrey, "I'll give you a couple minutes alone to let it out but if you run I will shoot you and I'm not kidding…" she warned as she shut the car door and walked back over to Peter to tell him that Neal was secured. Lowering his face into his hands Neal broke down and let all the tears he was holding back fall free.

Diana walked up to her boss she knew she was stepping on eggshells as she approached him, before she opened her mouth she stood as still as a statue and waited for him to address her. Peter was fuming in the cornering of Neal the speed boat had gotten away before the FBI could stop it. When Peter turned to his former probie he looked at her and waited for her to speak. "I have Neal in the back of my car; I'll take him back to the office and begin to question him," she said hoping that putting distance between Peter and Neal would make both of them feel better. Going back to her car Diana got behind the wheel and looked at Neal in the rearview mirror.

"Whatever he said Neal he didn't mean it, you have no idea how much Peter cares about you," she said as she drove back to the FBI office. Neal put his fore head against the headrest of the driver's side. Sniffling loudly Neal moved his hands the handcuffs jingling slightly, "Diana… I really messed up, Peter hates me I know it…"Neal said softly as the car drove through the night and returned to the FBI office. When they got back to the office Neal let Diana lead him to the conference room where she un-cuffed him. Pulling his phone out Neal looked at Diana "I'm allowed to call my lawyer right?" he asked in a clear moment of tears. Diana nodded and left the room she stood by the railing and watched Neal through the wall as he made his call.

* * *

Peter walked back into the office an hour later he had taken a long to try and calm himself down but it hadn't worked he was still quite angry at Neal for doing what he did. As he walked out of the elevator the elevator across from him chimed and his wife walked out with Mozzie. "Hon what are you doing here?" Peter asked reigning in his anger. "Mozzie called, he told me you arrested Neal and that he wanted to talk to me before you yelled at him," Elizabeth said as she walked into the bullpen, she looked up at the conference room from where she was standing she could see Neal in the far corner sitting on the floor. Elizabeth removed her coat and put it down on an open chair before walking up the stairs and entering the conference room she carefully walked over and sat on the floor beside Neal.

"Shh… its okay Neal, I'm here…"she said softly "Peter hates me…he said that I lied to him again and that he wants nothing to do with me anymore, he doesn't want to be my partner, my lover or even my friend… I didn't mean to make him this mad," Neal said as he started to cry again. Putting a comforting arm around Neal, Elizabeth rubbed his back. "Neal why did you do it?" she asked softly as Neal curled up closer. "Because a man I used to work for told me that if I stole the necklace for him he would tell me who was the one behind Kate's death…I wanted to back out I swear but when I met up with him again the day after Thanksgiving he told me if I turned him into the FBI he would have me killed like he did Jordan Wilson, I couldn't back out… I tried to keep Peter out of it as much as possible to protect him" Neal sobbed as he tried to forget the hate Peter had etched on his face earlier that night. Elizabeth sighed softly and petted Neal's hair, after a few minutes she realized Neal was being too quiet, looking down she realized Neal had cried himself to sleep.

After believing that he had waited long enough Peter walked into the conference room to discover his wife coddling his former partner. "So I see he's corrupted you to believing whatever story he's come up with," Peter remarked as he walked closer. Shaking her head Elizabeth slipped free when Diana came over and took her place and put a pillow under Neal's head. Getting up from the floor Elizabeth grabbed her husband's arm in a death grip and dragged him into his office. Making sure the door was closed between the office and the conference room Elizabeth turned on her husband.

"You have no idea what Neal was doing…he didn't give me a name but he did say that a man he used to work for told him that if he stole a necklace he would tell Neal who actually blew the plane up and killed Kate. Neal also told me he wanted to back out after he talked to you but the day after Thanksgiving the guy who hired him threatened to have Neal killed if he was turned into the FBI so that's why Neal didn't say anything to you. He was protecting you…now go and apologize to him because he thinks you hate him," she said trying to mend the shattered friendship.

Peter shook his head "I can't, I'm also being investigated as well… the U.S Marshalls called Hughes, apparently I called them and told them I would be letting Neal off his anklet for a case for two hours, so if I have any contact with Benedict Caffrey in there I could kiss my job goodbye. Neal is going to jail El; he broke the law and I have to protect my own ass for once," Peter said as he looked at his wife. Elizabeth sat down in Peter's chair and looked at the floor and before Elizabeth could say anything Jones walked into the office. "Sorry to interrupt but there is an insurance investigator Sara Ellis from Sterling-Bosh here she says her client called about a stolen necklace. She also says she knows who did it and she has proof," Jones said looking down a bit. "She has security photos of Neal at her client's home posing as a gas man," Jones said as he backed away and left the office. Peter sighed he knew that Neal was in even deeper trouble than before.

* * *

Sara walked into the conference room with Hughes, Jones and Peter where they looked at Neal sitting in the chair across the table from the door with his lawyer by his side, right away Sara could tell he had been crying not long ago. "Hello Neal long time no see, are you still taking things that don't belong to you, so where is the real necklace?"She asked putting her hands on the table and leaning toward Neal. Sitting quietly Neal looked at the table and didn't speak. "Fine, but my client is pressing charges, he wants his necklace back Caffrey, and after you give it back you're most likely going back to jail. Unless you're going to claim you're innocent," Sara added as she watched Neal for any reaction. Neal looked up from where he was staring and locked eyes with the investigator.

"No I'm guilty, I took the necklace…I'll admit it. Also against my lawyer's advice I'm also admitting that I've drugged a federal agent or at least attempted to, I stole the key to my anklet and used it to get away, I called the Marshalls and impersonated Peter and gave the necklace to the man that hired me," Neal said lying about most of the events. Hughes cleared his throat "That's half right Caffrey, we know you didn't make the call…Peter told us what he heard and we also have the request on tape for analysis," he said looking at Neal. Mozzie pulled Neal over and whispered in his ear. "You're going to serve thirteen years if you admit to all of this, if you just give the real necklace back we can reduce you're sentence… and don't get all self righteous about needing to learn a lesson. I'm sorry Neal but this has to be done," Mozzie said as he pulled away.

Standing up Mozzie looked across the table. "My client is willing to learn from his mistakes and he will return the real necklace back so that his sentence will be reduced to fifteen months and give up the name of the man who hired him for another five months taken off, thus giving him a ten month sentence with the chance of getting off early for possible good behavior," Sara looked at the ex con and nodded her head. "Mr. Richards said he would drop the theft charges if he got the necklace back, so you have a deal… give up the necklace and the name and you'll be out of jail in no time," she said agreeing to the terms she had spoken to Mozzie about before.

Neal lowered his gaze moving his hand in front of his mouth in thought. "No deal…I want to serve all thirteen years, I did the crime and I admit it… I'm not going to learn anything," Neal remarked looked up at Peter. "Maybe it will straighten you out, maybe some of your stupidity will finally leave and you can finally grow up to be like everyone else, and maybe you can finally come back to work here… you know work, a concept you still can't seem to grasp at your age," Peter remarked. Mozzie looked at everyone, "I need a minute alone with my client," he said as he watched the room clear out quickly. Once they were alone Mozzie began to pace,

"I don't want to do this Neal but you've left me no choice…" Mozzie remarked as he reached into his bag and pulled out the small black bag Neal gave him earlier that night and before Neal could stop the shorter man he walked out of the conference room and over to where Sara was waiting. Mozzie held out the bag. "Here is the necklace; the man that hired Neal was Vincent Adler he originally promised to tell Neal who killed his girlfriend then when Neal was about back out his life was threatened as for the call it was Neal's brother Nick," Mozzie said telling the FBI everything they wanted. Hughes looked into the conference room and nodded his head "Jones… Diana, take him back to the prison, I'll clear his sentence agreement with the DOJ," he said as he watched Neal.

Looking at each other Jones and Diana walked into the conference room and avoided Neal's gaze as they stood him up and handcuffed him. No one spoke as Neal was led out of the office. Neal stayed quiet as he was put into the back seat, he didn't bat an eyelash when he was put in the back seat of the car or when the door was shut. The drive was long and quiet; the check in process took close to an hour. By five in the morning Neal found himself back in a cell in an orange jumpsuit.


End file.
